The announcement of his pick for ambassador comes after Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal.

China consistently respects Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal while acknowledging its role as a permanently neutral international passageway, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday,

Panama's president has openly dismissed a recent claim from President-elect Donald Trump that China interfered with the Panama Canal, calling the remark "nonsense." Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino denied the claim on Thursday at a news conference.

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.

The president-elect intends to push back on Beijing’s “growth and strategic footprint” in the Western Hemisphere, said Trump’s pick for Latin America special envoy.

The Panama Canal remains a critical asset for U.S. strategic interests, echoing the Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary in our modern context. As China extends its economic influence in Panama, the canal’s neutrality and our regional dominance are at risk.

The U.S. acquired the rights to build and operate the canal in the early 20th century, but at the time, Panama was in the process of seceding from Colombia, whose senate was refusing to ratify a treaty that would allow the canal to be built, according to the State Department's Office of the Historian .

Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as his choice for the post after suggesting that the US should take control of the Panama Canal – a proposal he first floated over the weekend while claiming that Panama is “ripping off” American ships that pass through the waterway.