China’s advance in Panama: An update Click to read this article in English Source: Adobe Photo Stock The June 2017 recognition of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by the Panamanian government of Juan Carlos Varela set in motion an array of Chinese activities in Panama, as well as diplomatic changes in nearby El Salvador and the Dominican Republic—all of which grabbed the attention and concern of Washington. The election of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party’s (PRD) Laurentino Cortizo in 2019 has since led to greater scrutiny of various projects involving China. Panama’s economy was one of the hardest hit in the region by the COVID-19 pandemic, contracting by 17.9 percent in 2020, furthering its vulnerability to Chinese advances. For China, Panama’s position—both as an international commercial and banking hub and a logistical choke point, due to its geographic positioning—gives it strategic importance. At the same time, the new administration of President Joe Biden in the United States has created incentives for an increasingly self-confident China to push the limits of its global position, as illustrated by China’s aggressive stance toward the U.S. during the first U.S.-China summit in Anchorage, Alaska in March 2021.