In March, tensions between China and Panama continued to grow as Beijing ratcheted up retaliatory pressure over the annulment of two Chinese port concessions. U.S. President Donald Trump convened twelve Caribbean and Latin American leaders at the Shield of the Americas summit, where he declared U.S. opposition to hostile foreign influence in the Western Hemisphere, prompting backlash from Beijing. Chile’s presidential transition faced unprecedented disruptions over a proposed Chinese fiber-optic cable.