{"id":20324,"date":"2017-06-28T14:11:47","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T19:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=20324"},"modified":"2017-06-29T09:01:44","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T14:01:44","slug":"panama-deal-likely-finally-scupper-nicaragua-canal-chinese-state-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/panama-deal-likely-finally-scupper-nicaragua-canal-chinese-state-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama deal likely to \u201cfinally scupper\u201d Nicaragua canal: Chinese state media"},"content":{"rendered":"

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China’s $1bn project to build a new deep-water port by the Panama Canal, which began days before Panama finally cut ties with Taiwan, is likely to finally scupper the controversial and long-stalled Nicaragua canal, an article in a Chinese state newspaper has claimed.<\/p>\n

The company China Landbridge\u2019s project to turn Margarita Island at the Caribbean mouth of Panama\u2019s canal into the 13th largest container port in the world<\/a> was called a \u201chuge boost\u201d for China\u2019s Belt and Road initiative, in contrast to the plan by another Chinese company to build a $50bn transoceanic canal in Nicaragua, which has seen little progress since work was ceremonially launched in December 2014.<\/p>\n

Following its cherished One China policy, China has rewarded countries that cut ties with Taiwan with generous infrastructure deals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That made the decision of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega\u2019s strident backing of Taiwan<\/a> at the beginning of this year difficult to understand.<\/p>\n

While not mentioning Ortega\u2019s move, the article in the staunchly pro-Beijing newspaper Global Times<\/em> reserved hard words for the Nicaragua canal, which had been heavily promoted by Chinese billionaire Wang Jing and his company HKND.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome saw it as a chance to rival the US-dominated Panama Canal; others saw it as a massively wasteful boondoggle that had little chance of succeeding,\u201d wrote guest writer Chris Dalby, described as \u201cMexico-based analyst of Chinese politics and economics\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dalby went on: \u201cWang talked up the project regularly but he lost much of his fortune during the stock market crash of 2015 and there has been no recent evidence that the project is underway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Landbridge deal, he said, \u201cis also likely to finally scupper the controversial and troubled plans to build a new canal through Nicaragua\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese authorities did not formally back Wang\u2019s project, and with the expanded Panama Canal presenting all the more opportunities, it would appear unlikely for them do so at all,\u201d Dalby concluded.<\/p>\n

The writer also said: \u201cAlthough Landbridge is ostensibly a private company, its management is directly tied to the Chinese government, making it a good stepping stone toward diplomatic ties. For China, the deal makes complete sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chinese government has remained resolutely silent on the Nicaragua canal, which has concerned scientists<\/a> because of the environmental damage they say it would cause.<\/p>\n

Appearing in the Global Times, considered a loyal mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, this article may be the clearest signal yet of Beijing\u2019s stance \u2013 and of the demise of the Nicaragua scheme.<\/p>\n