Panama has owned and administered the Panama Canal for nearly three decades. President Trump wants to change that to counter growing Chinese influence in Latin America.

China Wednesday claimed it has never interfered in the Panama Canal amid threats of overtaking the shipping channel by the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, state media reported. Beijing has “not been involved in the management or operation of the Panama Canal,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital.

Nonetheless, Trump’s bet is to not have to pursue military conquest in the Athenian way. He would rather have a complacent Panama, accepting all U.S. demands. As shown by the recent Colombia-U.S. clash over deportations, Trump’s approach seems to be “cooperate or else.”

Republicans hoping to thwart Beijing’s influence in Latin America are urging the Panamanian government to cut ties with Chinese entities.

Hutchinson Ports - a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings - operate ports on either extreme of the 82-kilometer waterway.

China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

The new Panamanian ambassador was given strict instructions as he prepared to meet then-President Donald Trump one day in 2019: Do not engage him in any substantive discussion of critical issues.

Donald Trump stokes fears about Beijing’s influence in Panama, but thousands of Chinese gave their lives to build canal and railway.

During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today, Senator Ted Cruz questioned experts over China's influence over the Panama Canal.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip to Central America, including Panama, is partially about countering China, a State Department spokesperson told Fox Business, as new President Donald Trump is pushing to "take back" the Panama Canal.