China says US ambassador to Panama ‘spreading lies’ after ‘malign’ presence jibe

By Orange Wang

Diplomatic tensions between China and the United States over Panama have flared up once again, with the Chinese embassy in the Central American country accusing Washington’s top envoy there of “spreading lies” to undermine Beijing’s regional ties.

This comes after the US ambassador to Panama, Kevin Cabrera, said that Washington viewed China’s presence in the Panama Canal as “malign”.

Beijing was fooling Latin America with its investments, he claimed in an interview with digital media outlet Contrapeso Panamá published on Sunday.

“They come in, give away money and engage in corruption, which the US does not do. American companies cannot participate in those things,” Cabrera was quoted as saying.

“Just look at Chile, Peru and Ecuador: the dams they built, the mines they built. It’s been a disaster.

“And let’s not even talk about the canal they were going to build in Nicaragua. They spent I don’t know how much destroying the environment, and nothing happened.”

Based in Beijing, Orange covers a range of topics including China’s economy and diplomacy. He previously worked in Hong Kong and had a stint in Washington. Before joining the Post, Orange worked as a Shanghai Correspondent for ET Net, a Hong Kong financial news agency.

Source: SCMP