A cartoon released by the Chinese Embassy in Panama on its X account on August 24, 2026, featured the caption: "Why do you think I have also been fitted with a listening device?" Photo: Screenshot from the Chinese Embassy in Panama's official X account After the US Embassy in Panama posted claims by US officials on social media smearing Chinese technology companies, the Chinese Embassy in Panama on Monday posted an image on its official X account showing a crying shaomai dumpling character with a listening device inserted into it in response. The post was captioned, "For those whose minds are filled only with geopolitical calculations, they might even suspect that there is a listening device in a shaomai dumpling." The Chinese response quickly drew attention from mainstream Panamanian media, with a report by La Estrella de Panama noting that tensions between China and the US over the presence of Chinese technology in Latin America had reached the social media platform of the Chinese Embassy in Panama, which "responded with a message that quickly drew attention for its unusual reference to Chinese food." Chinese Ambassador to Panama Zhang Xiangyan explained the cartoon in an interview with the Global Times, stating that "nothing is more representative of Panama's local characteristics than a Chinese-style breakfast." Shaomai, a popular Chinese delicacy widely known and loved by Panamanians, carries elements of Chinese culture. Using it as the theme of a cartoon makes the satire easier for local audiences to understand, Zhang said. Recently, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that more than 40 Chinese entities would be added to a so-called entity list under the Uygur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Among those included were well-known Chinese food brands such as Qiaqia sunflower seeds and Synear dumplings. The Chinese Embassy in Panama hoped to use cartoons to satirize what it described as the US's abuse of the concept of national security, the ambassador added. Zhang said that "it should be emphasized that before releasing the satirical cartoon, we had already clarified the facts and lodged a firm protest against the US' inappropriate actions through social media, making our position clear." He added that the cartoon was a follow-up response based on a series of rational rebuttals, using a more accessible and impactful artistic form to expose the absurdity of the US' smears against China. On August 22, the Chinese Embassy in Panama responded to US accusations targeting Chinese technology companies. The embassy said in a statement released on its official WeChat account on Monday that it had noted that the US Embassy in Panama had reposted on social media remarks by certain US officials making unfounded accusations against Chinese technology companies. "Fabricating facts and distorting right and wrong are habitual tactics of some US politicians," the Chinese embassy said, stressing that US claims that Chinese companies conduct espionage activities for the Communist Party of China lack basic factual grounds. The embassy also accused the US of "a thief crying 'stop thief'" and "shifting the blame," saying Washington has overstretched the concept of national security, restricted the normal development of Chinese companies and pressured regional countries to replace Chinese products. "This is blatant technological bullying," the embassy said. The US, which is truly keen on conducting espionage activities around the world and does not even spare its allies, should not accuse others of the same, the embassy said. "For those whose minds are filled only with geopolitical calculations, they might even suspect that there is a listening device in a shaomai dumpling," the embassy said, using a sarcastic remark to mock what it described as Washington's excessive suspicion of Chinese technology. 。
