As a preliminary stage to negotiations for the signing of a Free Trade Agreement, authorities in both countries have started a feasibility study.

According to the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Augusto Arosemena Moreno, “Panama’s primary interest is to boost foreign investment, mainly of added value, making Panama a distribution center for the region and boosting Panamanian exports to the Asian market.” 

See: “What will the new Panama-China relationship bring?” 

From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Panama:

Panama and the People’s Republic of China have started a feasibility study for the FTA negotiations. 

The Republic of Panama and the People’s Republic of China started the joint feasibility study in the city of Beijing, being the first step prior to launching negotiations for the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that aims to promote and facilitate commercial relations, taking advantage of the advantages and synergies between both economies.

The study began with a meeting held by a Panamanian delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Néstor González, and the commercial authorities of China, in which the mechanism to be used by the technical teams of both countries that will carry out the feasibility study was agreed.  This study will be comprehensive and will cover sectors of common interest and future work plans, and the “Treaty Negotiation Framework” will be subject to the outcome of this study. 

Read full release (in Spanish).