The Chinese government has said it firmly opposes the US actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion.

China hopes Panama can free itself from external interference and make the right decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Friday in response to reports that Panama would suspend its participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Lin said at a regular press conference that China firmly opposes the US actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion, and deeply regrets that Panama has not renewed the MoU on BRI cooperation with China.

The BRI is an economic cooperation initiative. BRI cooperation has yielded tangible results for people in more than 150 countries, including more than 20 countries in Latin America, Lin said, adding that BRI cooperation between China and Panama has been productive in recent years.

"China hopes that Panama can proceed from the overall perspective of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples, free itself from external interference and make the right decision," Lin said.

China supports Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal and is committed to maintaining the canal's status as a permanently neutral international waterway, another foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

China has never been involved in the management or operation of the canal, and has never interfered in them. The accusation that China has control over the canal is totally groundless, the document said.

"The world is not blind to the truth of who keeps the channel neutral and prosperous and who keeps threatening to 'take back' the channel," the statement said.