China's expanding footprint in Latin America is expected to be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Panama next week on his first overseas trip since taking office, according to observers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to Panama late next week in his first official diplomatic trip late, amid heightened tensions over President Trump’s threats to retake the Panama

Marco Rubio will travel to Panama on his first trip abroad as secretary of State. The visit comes as Donald Trump looks to reclaim Panama's canal.

The Senate resolution echoes Trump’s references to the money the United States spent to build the canal at the beginning of the 20th century.

Panama has reportedly submitted a formal letter to the U.N. rejecting Trump's statement about reclaiming the canal. The country's President José Raúl Mulino said in the letter, dated January 20, that the canal "is and will continue to be Panama's," the New York Times reported.

President Donald Trump’s insistence that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control is feeding nationalist sentiment and worry in Panama, home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.

The Panamanian government formally raised concerns with the United Nations over President Trump’s threats to retake the Panama Canal, noting any threat of force would violate rules. In

Trump's claim that Chinese soldiers exercise authority over the Panama Canal is inaccurate, but his assertion that China manipulates the use of the passage is a long-held U.S. concern.

In his speech, Trump said the U.S. will attempt to reassert control over the Panama Canal, claiming that China is giving preferential treatment over the crucial waterway bridging the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will likely travel to Central America in the first week of February, a source familiar with the planning said.

The nonbinding resolution comes amid concerns from Trump and his allies about China's expanding influence in Latin America.