Live: Panama President Jose Raul Mulino slams Donald Trump’s claims of Chinese control over Panama Canal Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denied Donald Trump’s claims of Chinese interference in the Panama Canal,

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday ruled out negotiations with Donald Trump over control of the Panama Canal, which the US president-elect threatened to demand be returned to Washington.

PHOENIX — Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The canal, which was completed in 1914, was constructed by the United States and handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999, according to treaties signed approximately twenty years earlier

As for the Panama Canal, Mulino denied U.S. vessels are being overcharged to use the waterway and emphasized that China plays no role in the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm manages two ports at the Panama Canal’s entrances, but Panama owns and operates the entire canal.

President-elect Trump has ignited a diplomatic firestorm by demanding Panama return control of the Panama Canal to the US. He alleges unfair pricing a

Sen. Ben Cardin said on ABC's "This Week" that President-elect Donald Trump's threats to seize the Panama Canal could drive U.S. allies toward to Russia and China.

Trump’s demands to have the Panama Canal returned to the U.S. were made due to Panama charging “exorbitant” passage fees on the U.S.