Delayed Diplomacy: Panama’s Establishment of Diplomatic Relations with the People’s Republic of China, 1980-2017

This article analyses the historical process behind Panama establishing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 2017 under President Juan Carlos Varela. While most Latin American countries switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in the late 20th century, Panama instead maintained relations with Taiwan. Utilizing archival documents and interviews with major Panamanian foreign policymakers, including two Panamanian presidents, this article explains why Panama switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China much later than other Latin American countries, and why it was Varela, and none of his predecessors, who established relations with China. Furthermore, this article highlights how both U.S. geopolitical pressure and Taiwanese domestic politics influenced this process, frustrating Panamanian attempts to establish relations with China in 1980, the late 1990s, and 2009.