Panama Kicked Out Hutchison, but Port Risks Remain

Analysis by Henry Ziemer, Jaehyun Han, and Aidan Powers-Riggs

Published February 2, 2026

On January 29, Panama’s supreme court ruled two port concessions operated by CK Hutchison to be unconstitutional. This is a major setback for China in Panama, but Chinese state-owned shipping company COSCO is still seeking to expand its influence in five other key ports in the region.

The supreme court’s decision brings an end to the Panama Canal saga, but Hong Kong–based firm CK Hutchison is still seeking to sell off a network of foreign ports. While the leases for the two Panama ports were voided, 41 ports currently operated by Hutchison are still up for grabs, including key facilities in Mexico and the Bahamas.
China is now pushing for its state-owned firm COSCO to have a majority stake in the 41 remaining ports, including five key facilities in Latin America and the Caribbean. An updated risk index developed by CSIS shows a lower risk score from Panama's ports, but heightened risk if COSCO gains a stake elsewhere. Changes in these risk scores are driven by China’s influence over port operations—as a state-owned company, COSCO is subject to more centralized control than Hutchison.
There is cause for some optimism. Hutchison is reportedly considering splitting up the original deal for 41 ports into smaller parcels, potentially selling off its holdings in in Asia and Africa to COSCO, while ports in Latin America and the Caribbean ports would be sold to a U.S.-aligned consortium. However, following the setback in Panama, China is likely to push even harder to retain influence over ports around the world formerly operated by Hutchison.

CSIS Charts is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).