A Panamanian court has annulled a port contract by a Hong Kong subsidiary after President José Raúl Mulino received assurances that canal traffic would not be disrupted.
The court ruled on Thursday that the port concession granted to Panama Ports Company – a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings – was unconstitutional.
According to The Associated Press, the decision was welcomed by the US and criticized by Beijing.
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An aerial view of Rodman Harbor in Panama City, January 30, 2026. (Marin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)
“President Trump, by removing Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas, ended Chinese influence in Venezuela,” Chang added. “The termination of the Hutchison port concessions in Panama sends the message to countries that Trump is determined to drive China out of the region and that they should join the US president.”
Mulino said Friday that port operations will continue at both ends of the canal as the ruling is implemented, adding that the Panamanian Maritime Authority will work with Panama Ports Company to keep the ports running, the AP reported.
Once the concession is formally terminated, Mulino says, a local subsidiary of Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk will operate the ports temporarily while the government opens a new bidding process for a long-term concession.
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Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino waves before delivering a speech during his swearing-in ceremony at the Atlapa Convention Center in Panama City on July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
The court’s decision followed an audit by Panama’s comptroller, which revealed irregularities in a 25-year extension of the concession granted in 2021, the AP said.
The statement is consistent with long-standing U.S. concerns about China’s presence near the Panama Canal.
Limiting Beijing’s influence in the region has been a priority of the Trump administration, and Panama was the first foreign stop for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this year, the AP reported.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 28, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
“The United States is encouraged by the Panamanian Supreme Court’s recent decision to declare port concessions to China unconstitutional,” Rubio wrote to X on Friday.
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Panama Ports Company said it had not been formally notified of the ruling and argued it has no legal basis, warning it could harm thousands of Panamanian families and undermine legal certainty. According to the AP, the Hong Kong government has also rejected the ruling.
