China supports Panama's effort to uphold independence, defend lawful rights: spokesperson

China supports Panama's effort to uphold independence and firmly defend its lawful rights and interests as an independent sovereign country, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on the statement of the head of the Panama Canal Authority about the purchase of CK Hutchison assets.

On June 10, the head of the Panama Canal Authority reportedly said, "There is a potential risk of capacity concentration if the deal comes the way it is structured as we understand right now. It will be at the expense of Panama's competitiveness in the market and inconsistent with neutrality." The Panama Canal head also said a U.S. request to allow its government ships to pass through the Canal for free was not possible.

"On CK Hutchison's sales of its assets overseas, the State Administration for Market Regulation and related departments made responses to that more than once, which you may refer to. Let me stress more broadly that China all along firmly opposes economic coercion, domineering, and bullying practices. On the navigation of relevant country's vessels, China will, as always, respect Panama's sovereignty over the Canal and recognize the Canal as a permanently neutral international waterway. We support Panama's effort to uphold independence and firmly defend its lawful rights and interests as an independent sovereign country," he said.

China supports Panama's effort to uphold independence, defend lawful rights: spokesperson

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting