Court Rules CK Hutchison’s Control of Panama Canal Ports ‘Unconstitutional’

The ruling followed an audit by Panama’s comptroller, which alleged irregularities in the 25-year extension of the concession granted in 2021.

A cargo ship waits at Balboa Port before crossing the Panama Canal, in Panama City on Feb. 4, 2025. Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings’ concession to operate ports at the Panama Canal has been ruled unconstitutional.

Panama’s supreme court ruled late on Jan. 29 that it was unconstitutional for the company, which has complex ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to operate two ports at either end of the canal.

“These laws and acts under challenge relate to the concession contract between the State and Panama Ports Company S.A. for the development, construction, operation, administration, and management of the terminals at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal,” the court stated, according to Spanish news agency Agencia EFE.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X on Jan. 30 that the United States was “encouraged by Panama’s Supreme Court ruling that port concessions linked to China were unconstitutional.”

The move advances a U.S. aim of blocking Beijing’s influence over the strategic waterway.