Donald Trump has begun his second term as president by ramping up pressure on Panama – threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal and accusing the country of ceding control of the strategically critical waterway to a US rival: China.

China on Monday categorically rejected US accusations of its alleged influence over the Panama Canal. "Let me say that I think the accusation against China is totally false," China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong said in New York.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced Sunday that his country will be ending a development deal with communist China. The announcement came during a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Central American nation,

President Trump says the canal authority is overcharging. Recent increases are attributed in part to drought, maintenance investments and demand.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday accused the United States government of lying a day earlier when the U.S. State Department claimed that U.S. government vessels would be able to cross the country's namesake canal without paying fees.