'China is trying to take control over Panama Canal', claims Trump

US President Donald Trump has claimed that China is seeking to gain influence over the Panama Canal, as he criticised the decision to hand over the key waterway.

Speaking at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, Trump vowed that he won't let China take over the Panama Canal.

"The Panama Canal, so we gave it away. The first thing they did, you know what they did? They raised the prices for the ships by four times, and they didn't lose one ship. And then they raised it again twice, and they didn't lose one ship. All they did was make tremendous amounts of money for years and years. How stupid was that?" Trump said.

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"And now China's trying to take over the Panama Canal, and we're not going to let that happen, okay? And that was not part of the script because I don't really have a script because this thing doesn't work," he added.

Trump was referring to a 1977 decision in which the US transferred control of the canal under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, a process that culminated with Panama assuming full control of the waterway in 1999.

During a visit to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, on Wednesday, Trump held a conversation with an artificial intelligence-powered avatar of former President Theodore Roosevelt.

During the exchange, Trump asked the AI-generated Roosevelt whether he considered the construction of the Panama Canal to be his greatest achievement.

The AI version of Roosevelt replied, "The canal stands as one of my proudest battles. It showed what America could achieve if we held steady and acted fast. That said, I measure my greatest work by the lives improved…when I stood watching, knowing ships would pass through, I felt I left a mark that would last," to which Trump said, "You did! Thank you!"