Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has firmly rejected negotiations with Donald Trump regarding control of the Panama Canal.

President Mulino said the ‘canal is Panamanian and there’s no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality’.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has dismissed US President-elect Donald Trump's threats to reclaim control over the Panama Canal, asserting Panamanian ownership and rejecting negotiations. Mulino also refuted claims of Chinese influence and ruled out lowering tolls for US ships,

Mulino also ruled out lowering canal tolls for US ships and refuted claims that China held any sway over the crucial waterway 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

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera to serve as ambassador to Panama after having threatened for the U.S. to reassert control over the Panama Canal it handed over 25 years ago.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said China has no stake in the Panama Canal and US warships pay the same toll rates as other nations, pushing back against Donald Trump’s threats over the key waterway.