H-W owns the leases on balboa and cristobal ports, and apparently won the leases corruptly (surprise). I had heard they tried to get Rodman docks but am not up to date on how that worked out. It certainly stands to reason H-W will have an accomodating relationship with the PRC/PLA.
These ports are not part of the panama canal. Cristobal port (the main one) is fairly far from gatun locks, while balboa port is quite close to Miraflores locks.
The major, honest confusion among posters here is that running these ports mean you somehow have anything to do with canal ownership, land, administration or operations. None of the above it true. The ACP is essentially identical to the panama canal commission it replaced, with some more local corruption/color starting to pop up.
At the time clinton made his remark, china had apparently bought the then-current government of panama, had wholesale people-smuggling in operation, but a lot of that seems to have quieted down under the follwing 2 governments. Whatever geopolitical influence china has in panama, his remark was inaccurate. I have wondered if he was only cursorily briefed on the topic and made the same erroneous assumption many here do.
i have read some of the allegations that law 5 given H-W various rights that look bad, and cannot verify much of this, particularly the part about the pilots, despite several years of asking, including commission employees. If Panama Ports/HW is running the pilots no one, including the pilots, know about it.
The best way to judge, of course, is come to Panama. See the secret china ports, and judge for yourself. That will take a few hours if you do Cristobal as well, then you can have fun the rest of your vacation while you wander in teh streets and run into american soldiers EVERYWHERE.
How in the world can I argue with that!?!??!