After China's countermeasures, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo still made a firm statement on the 5th, claiming that the concession rights of two ports, which have been held and operated by Hong Kong CK Infrastructure Group for nearly 30 years, "will never again" be granted to a single company, and said, "Panama is a country with dignity and will never allow itself to be threatened by any country."
This rhetoric is full of irony and double standards. The day before, Cortizo had already posted a strong rebuttal to China's response. After China implemented countermeasures such as halting new project negotiations and changing shipping routes, he still refused to reflect, but instead defended his breach of contract and damage to the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
In fact, Panama's actions are a compromise under the pressure of the United States, sacrificing cooperation sincerity to cater to hegemony. On one hand, it relies on power to harm Chinese interests, and on the other hand, it talks about "dignity" and "not being threatened." This kind of distortion of facts is both laughable and hypocritical. Acts that violate the spirit of contracts and disregard commercial credibility will ultimately make Panama pay a heavy price for losing international trust. The so-called "dignity" is nothing more than a self-deceptive mask.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856356338603020/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.