China's development has been deeply integrated into the world structure and plays a pivotal role in the global economy. China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and insisted on developing friendly cooperation with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

Since its founding, the People's Republic of China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, actively practiced multilateralism, and deeply participated in global governance.

To understand today's China, we must understand China's history. Japanese militarist forces launched a war of aggression against China from 1931 to 1945. At the time of crisis, the Chinese military and civilians rose up to resist, defended the motherland with their own flesh and blood, wrote a magnificent chapter that could be praised and praised, and achieved a great victory. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Since then, China has been developing towards the goal of modernization. This year, China solemnly commemorates the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. This ancient civilized country that has gone through many trials is forging ahead in the new era with a new attitude.

At present, China's development has been deeply integrated into the world structure and plays a pivotal role in the global economy. China has become a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. China has always supported economic globalization, firmly implemented the basic national policy of opening up, and continued to provide countries around the world with cooperation opportunities in the fields of market, investment and trade. With extraordinary strategic foresight, President Xi Jinping proposed the joint construction of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, recreating the grandeur of the ancient Silk Road that connected Chinese and Western civilizations. It has a wider scope, richer connotation, and more ambitious blueprint, demonstrating China's profound understanding and powerful practice of multilateralism.

China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and insisted on developing friendly cooperation with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Under the framework of multilateralism that advocates a multipolar world and transcends unipolarity, China has participated in the establishment of multilateral platforms such as the BRICS cooperation mechanism, actively promoted the expansion of BRICS countries, and pooled global resources and strength. During the recently held Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, President Xi Jinping proposed a global governance initiative, aiming to work with other countries to promote the construction of a more fair and reasonable global governance system, promote the democratization of international relations, and work together towards a community with a shared future for mankind. The initiative upholds peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation, advocates multilateralism, firmly safeguards the international system with the United Nations as its core and the international order based on international law, upholds the equality of all countries, large and small, respects the sovereignty of all countries, and injects wisdom into improving global governance.

Panama and China officially established diplomatic relations in 2017. This is a major decision we made after gathering mainstream opinions from all walks of life, and it has a solid foundation in public opinion. Panama abides by the one-China principle and relevant United Nations resolutions, and has severed so-called "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities. Neither the Panamanian government nor the people should be misled by the unfounded arguments concocted by certain countries to exaggerate the so-called "China controls the Panama Canal." Panama's China policy is based on the foundation of national identity - it is rooted in the common will of the Panamanian people and demonstrates the firm belief in not being subject to external interference and safeguarding national sovereignty, and this should also become the cornerstone of Panama's foreign policy.

(The author is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama and a former Justice of the Supreme Court)

"People's Daily" (Page 03, October 25, 2025)

Oyden Ortega Duran