The Panama Canal has become a point of diplomatic controversy, following U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that the country should regain control of this strategic waterway. Our reporter Wang Siwen spoke to Andrew Thomas, Associate Professor at the University of Akron in the U.S. State of Ohio. She began by asking why the Panama Canal matters.
WANG SIWEN CGTN Reporter "Professor Thomas, the Panama Canal accounts for four percent of global shipping. Could you explain why it's so crucial to world trade?"
ANDREW THOMAS Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business University of Akron "That it's not the size, it's the cargo itself that goes through the canal that makes it really important today. Because of those larger set of locks that the Panamanians built, the massive liquid natural gas ships that before could not transit the canal, now can, because of the American shale energy revolution along with the new set of locks, the Panama Canal now is able to provide service to transport through the canal, American natural gas, liquid natural gas, particularly through the canal to the major importing markets of China, Japan, India, and Korea. That energy is vital for those markets. At the same time, it's very important for the American economy, because we are now exporting energy for the first time, and in more than 50 years."
WANG SIWEN CGTN Reporter "U.S. President Trump has repeatedly criticized the way the Panama Canal is being managed and China's growing influence in the region. For example, he claimed that China is operating the canal. What do you make of those claims?"
ANDREW THOMAS Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business University of Akron "The Panamanians operate the canal, and it's been run very well. The book I wrote highlighted what they've done. And I say this both as an American and as a resident of Panama. I'm proud of what the Americans did when we built the canal. And I'm very proud of what the Panamanians have done since they've run, since they took it over in 2000, at the same time, China has played a role. It's not a major role. They're operating the ports under contract. And that contract that was originally given to Hutchinson in 1997 that lasted 25 years. It was renewed in 2023 by the Panamanian government for another 25 years. The question should beg, why is it that China got these contracts? And I think one of the reasons and I say this as an American is that most American companies didn't even express an interest in going after these contracts. Nobody in 1997, for example, in the United States even bid to get the contract that Hutchinson ultimately did to operate the ports on the Atlantic and pacific side. I don't know of any American companies that bid in 2023 to get that next 25 year contract."
WANG SIWEN CGTN Reporter "You've written a book on the challenges facing the Panama Canal in the 21st century. What do you consider to be the biggest challenge facing the canal today?"
ANDREW THOMAS Associate Professor of Marketing & International Business University of Akron "The canal is dependent upon global trade. It doesn't determine global trade. It's dependent upon global trade patterns, and those things can change. So at the macro level, that's the biggest challenge. On a day to day basis of our concerns and challenges to the canal, one is fresh water. Finally, I think it's like any other organization, is people, developing that human capital to keep this success story running well into the 21st century."
