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

Lin said at a regular news briefing that China firmly opposes the United States' actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion and deeply regrets that Panama will not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on BRI cooperation with China.

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

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

China supports Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal and is committed to upholding the Canal's status as a permanently neutral international waterway, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

China has never participated in managing or operating the Canal, and never ever has China interfered. The accusation that China has control over the Canal is totally groundless, the spokesperson noted.

"The world is not blind to the truth that who is keeping the Canal neutral and thriving and who keeps threatening to 'take back' the Canal," the spokesperson said.