China dominates the global market for “rare earth” minerals crucial for everything from stealth jets to smartphones.

Beijing’s efforts to expand its reach in the country have hit several obstacles, in part because of American pressure.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal may be posturing, but it could dampen the Panamanian government’s wish to broaden relations with the United States, analysts say.

Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the U.S. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has in recent days repeatedly denounced what he sees as China’s outsized influence on the Panama Canal – the crucial maritime passageway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The U.S. has long invested heavily in Latin America and the Carribean, but China is South America’s biggest trading partner and benefactor. As part of its Belt and Road initiative, it is increasingly flexing its muscle with grants and loans across the continent. China in November unveiled a megaport in Peru.

Trump's claim that Chinese soldiers exercise authority over the Panama Canal is inaccurate, but his assertion that China manipulates the use of the passage is a long-held U.S. concern.

Chinese companies operate ports on both ends of the Panama Canal and invest in mining in Greenland. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The US is the biggest user of the Canal, but influence on its operations is dispersed among contracts with bidders internationally.

Over decades, a shift in US military strategy, larger carriers and the growth of commerce on the West Coast deemphasized US involvement.

President-elect Trump is right to support the Monroe Doctrine. But to keep Xi Jinping out of America's backyard, the next administration should get tough on China, not Panama.

Panama is part of a bigger piece of real estate that Mr Trump has his eye on. He wants to influence territory and infrastructure close to the United States. He views Mexico as a source of unwanted migration,