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.

Russia’s foreign ministry has called on Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama.