Stories from the New Silk Road: Panama
What impact has China’s Belt and Road initiative had on Panama five years on?
The Panama Canal is a great feat of engineering and a place of huge global significance for trade and shipping. An artificial waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, literally dividing North and South America, whilst saving thousands of miles of shipping time round Cape Horn at the very southern tip of South America.
The Americans built the canal and operated it for decades, but today there’s a new global superpower hoping to make their mark. In 2017, Panama became the first country in the region to sign up to China’s Belt and Road initiative, shortly after they had cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing.
Five years after signing up, what impact has the new Silk Road had on this small Central American nation with strong historical ties to the US? Travelling from one coast to the other, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ South America correspondent Katy Watson aims to find out.
Presenter: Katy Watson
Producer: Peter Shevlin
A C60Media production for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
(Photo: Panama port. Credit: Peter Shevlin)
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- Wed 9 Nov 2022 09:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Wed 9 Nov 2022 20:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, Europe and the Middle East & Online only
- Wed 9 Nov 2022 21:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview
- Sun 13 Nov 2022 11:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
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