China supports Panamanian people in defending sovereignty of Panama Canal

China has always supported the just fight of the Panamanian people in defending the sovereignty of the Panama Canal, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

The United States President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday called the Panama Canal "a vital national asset for the United States," threatening to retake the canal, citing "exorbitant prices" on U.S. ships.

In a social media video post on Sunday, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the canal will "continue to be in Panamanian hands."

"We noted Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino has issued an open statement on this. He stressed that every square of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to Panama and the sovereignty and independence of the country are not negotiable. He added that rates are not a whim and the Canal has no control, direct or indirect, from any power," said Mao.

"The Panama Canal is a great creation of the people of Panama. It is a golden waterway for connectivity among countries. China has always supported the people of Panama in their just struggle for sovereignty over the Canal. China will as always respect Panama’s sovereignty over the Canal and recognize the Canal as a permanently neutral international waterway. We believe that under the efficient running of Panama, the Canal will continue to make new contributions to facilitating integration and exchanges between people of different countries and enhancing humanity’s well being," Mao said.

China supports Panamanian people in defending sovereignty of Panama Canal

The Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport -- a pivotal airport in central China's Henan Province -- saw its cargo throughput surge to 800,000 tons in 2024, a record high since the airport was opened in 1997 following reconstruction on the basis of the Zhengzhou Dongjiao Airport.

Leveraging the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg "Air Silk Road" project, Zhengzhou is actively building itself into an international aviation hub. Currently, the Xinzheng International Airport has made great improvements in network coverage, service guarantee, and transfer efficiency.

Presently, 29 cargo airlines are operated in Zhengzhou, running a total of 57 cargo routes. Those air routes have formed a hub network across the three major economies of Europe, America and Asia, covering major economies in the world. As of Dec 20, the cargo volume of Luxembourg cargo flights handled in Zhengzhou this year reached 136,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 38.8 percent.

"We will keep enhancing our hard power of cargo guarantee and our soft power of operation service, and will continue to strengthen cooperation with freight forwarders, cross-border e-commerce platforms and other enterprises. We will also improve the efficiency of cargo collection and distribution through air-to-air transfer and combined transport of air and high-speed railway," said Zhang Mingchao, Party secretary of Zhongyu Aviation Group, an airline in Zhengzhou.

Pivotal airport in central China sees cargo throughput surge to record high