China condemns U.S. claims as pretext for control over Latin America, calls them “smear campaigns”

(MENAFN) China on Monday criticized what it called Washington's “smear campaigns,” claiming they serve as an “excuse to control” Latin America. The response came after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Panama Canal is facing “ongoing threats from China,” according to Chinese state media.

During a press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian remarked, “The remarks from the US officials are filled with ideological bias and cold war mentality, and they represent outright lies and fallacies.
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Lin further challenged, “Who views Latin America and the Caribbean as its 'backyard,' resurrecting and promoting new Monroe Doctrine in Latin America? ... And who allows the unchecked flow of small arms and ammunition into Latin America's zones of peace?”

Hegseth asserted that China's military maintains "too large of a presence in the Western Hemisphere."

In response, Lin highlighted that the partnership between China and Latin America is “a form of South-South cooperation, based solely on mutual support without geopolitical calculations.”

Hegseth urged Panama to fortify the Panama Canal with American support instead of depending on China, contending that the “malign influence of the Communist Chinese” in the canal region is not in the best interests of either Panama or the United States.

Lin rebutted, stating, “China's engagement with Latin American and Caribbean countries has always been guided by the principles of equality and mutual benefits. We never seek spheres of influence, nor target any third party.”

He added, “The repeated smear campaigns and attacks against China by the US and exaggeration of the ‘China threat’ are merely an excuse to control Latin America and the Caribbean, and this kind of rhetoric is destined to fail.”

President Donald Trump has stated that China exerts control over the Panama Canal and has promised that the United States will regain authority over this crucial waterway, which he describes as “vital” to national security.

Since 1999, Panama has overseen the canal, which was originally constructed by the United States.

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