Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has ruled out discussing control of the Panama Canal with top United States diplomat Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country.

Mulino also reiterated on Thursday his rejection of US President Donald Trump’s accusation that the canal — which links the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean — is being operated by China.

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Trump has pledged to take control of the strategic waterway, which is critical for trade.

“I cannot negotiate, much less open, a process of negotiation on the canal,” Mulino told reporters. “That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama.”

Several US media outlets have reported that Rubio will travel to Panama and other countries in the region in the coming days, in his first foreign trip as US secretary of state.

The US helped build the canal and controlled it when it was first completed in 1914, but a 1977 treaty set the stage for the US to hand full control of the waterway to Panama in 1999.

Trump has made acquiring the canal a top foreign policy priority, claiming without evidence that Panama is overcharging US ships and allowing Chinese military presence around the canal.

Asked earlier this month whether he would rule out the use of military force to achieve that aim, Trump told reporters: “I’m not going to commit to that.”

The US president also stressed the issue during his inauguration speech.

“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy,” he said. “And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”

According to the Panama Canal Authority, the agency that runs the waterway, the canal generated nearly $5bn in revenue last year.

On Thursday, Mulino said Panama has not received any information from the US about the “alleged military presence of another country in the canal”.

“The Panama Canal is controlled by Panama, and its administration has always been in Panamanian hands,” he said.

Mulino added that Panama has other issues to discuss with Rubio during his visit, including migration and drug trafficking.

Panama sits at the southern tip of Central America, bordering Colombia. Many migrants from South America travel through Panama to reach the US border.

The US invaded Panama in 1989 to topple then-President Manuel Noriega, who Washington accused of drug trafficking.