Moolenaar Discusses China and the Panama Canal with Panamanian Delegation

Today, Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar and Select Committee member Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) met with legislators from the National Assembly of Panama. They discussed U.S.-Panama relations, China’s influence in the western hemisphere, and the Panama Canal.

“In my meeting with the legislators from Panama we had a candid conversation about the failures of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This Chinese initiative saddles countries with debt and loans they will never be able to take back, and then China takes control of a country’s critical infrastructure. In Panama, the canal is critical infrastructure that must never be controlled by China. China’s malign influence in our hemisphere must be stopped and any deal on the Panama Canal must preclude any Chinese companies from taking part,” said Moolenaar following the meeting.

The meeting was arranged as part of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

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_{Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar (fifth from the left) and Congressman Carlos Gimenez (fifth from the right) meet with legislators from Panama in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025.}