Thinking of China on the shores of Panama

Chances are that as you read this, I'll be recovering from jet lag from my trip from Beijing to the city of David in western Panama. The trip involves two back-to-back overnight flights, first from Beijing to San Francisco and then from San Francisco to Panama City. Then there's an hourlong flight to David.

I have family in Panama, so the trip is worth the long haul, and we plan a short visit to Colombia while we're nearby. Given the enormous distances between Asia and Latin America, the long flights, in one sense, aren't too surprising. However, China has been growing closer to Latin America and the Caribbean, and both sides seem to have ambitions for an even closer relationship.

The door has been left open by what has become a progressively more isolationist United States, long the leading power in the hemisphere.