The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, rejected the statement from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office following the Supreme Court's ruling on the port contract and reiterated that Panama is a state of law that respects the independence of the Judiciary. 'I firmly reject the statement from the HK and Macao Affairs Office regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the port contract,' the head of state said. He added that Panama is a state of law and respects the decisions of the Judiciary, which is independent of the Central Government. Mulino also stated that, given the current circumstances in Panama, 'companies from Hong Kong should carefully review their existing and future investments' in the country. In response, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that his country 'will firmly defend the legitimate and legal rights and interests of Chinese companies', referring to the case linked to the ports located on the banks of the Panama Canal. In this context, the Chinese spokesperson also questioned statements from the United States about the Panamanian ruling, noting that 'by describing the decision of the Panamanian Supreme Court as 'encouraging' and falsely accusing China of exerting a 'malign influence in the Western Hemisphere,' the United States has once again demonstrated its Cold War mentality and ideological bias'. In parallel, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region expressed its protest against the Panamanian judicial decision. In an official statement, it stated that it 'firmly rejects and disapproves' of the ruling that declared the renewal of the port contract unconstitutional and warned of a possible impact on the investment climate. 'The Government of the HKSAR firmly opposes any foreign government from using coercive, repressive, or other unreasonable means in international economic and trade relations to seriously harm the legitimate commercial interests of Hong Kong companies,' the statement read.
