Larry Fink is playing the long game. With a little time, a possible nudge from President Trump and some on-the-ground lobbying of his contacts in mainland China, BlackRock’s billionaire

Panama and the U.S. signed a new security pact on the canal, boosting defense ties as tensions with China over Latin American influence continue to rise.

Panama promotes itself “as the bridge of the world, heart of the universe” but lately the narrow Central American Isthmus and its namesake canal that joins the Atlantic to the Pacific have become the setting for a bitter clash between the world’s two preeminent economic superpowers.

The Trump administration has made the security of the canal, built by the U.S. more than a century ago, a top priority for its Western Hemisphere policy.

The United States will take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during a visit to the Central American nation. Hegseth, following talks with Panama's government,

Chinese antitrust regulators are investigating a US consortium’s deal for two ports in the Panama Canal zone, reportedly delaying the deal’s closing that was originally set for next week.

The Hong Kong firm in charge of two key Panama Canal ports has flouted the terms of its contract, according to a Panamanian audit released Monday, as US and Chinese firms fight for business on the waterway after President Donald Trump threatened to seize it.