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Business pressed China-Panama diplomatic drive

Monday, June 19, 2017


China and Panama speed up efforts in recent weeks to establish diplomatic ties, urged on by business leaders in both nations who for years advocated cutting the relationship with Taiwan in favour of Beijing, officials said.

Panama's embrace of China, which was months in the making and announced by President Juan Carlos Varela on Monday of last week, was backed by Panama's business community, which has set its sights on attracting more investment from China.

"Panama is a focal point in the Americas that could attract that investment capacity," Jorge Quijano, head of the Panama Canal authority, told reporters on Thursday. "By not having diplomatic relations with them (China), somehow that didn't provide a platform for those investments in our country."

Source: Reuters