BEIJING – China hopes Panama can become free from external interference and make the right decision, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday responding to reports that Panama would suspend participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

China firmly opposes the United States' actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion and deeply regrets that Panama will not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on BRI cooperation with China, Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing.

The BRI is an initiative for economic cooperation. The BRI cooperation has delivered tangibly for people in more than 150 countries, including over 20 countries in Latin America, he said, adding that the BRI cooperation between China and Panama has been productive in recent years.

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"China hopes Panama can proceed from the big picture of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples, get itself free from external interference, and make the right decision.”

China supports Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal and is committed to upholding the Canal's status as a permanently neutral international waterway, a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

China has never participated in managing or operating the Canal, and never ever has China interfered. The accusation that China has control over the Canal is totally groundless, said the spokesperson.

"The world is not blind to the truth that who is keeping the Canal neutral and thriving and who keeps threatening to 'take back' the Canal," added the spokesperson.