The administrator of the Panama Canal said Friday that the vital waterway will remain in Panamanian hands and open to commerce from all countries, rejecting claims by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States should take it over.

Coming from Trump the developer and builder, this should be no surprise. In the end, it seems President Trump’s personal affinity for the Panama Canal, along with the issues of rising Chinese influence and immigration reform, will keep the Canal near the front page for years to come.

Treaties ratified by the Senate in 1978 established permanent neutrality, but some Republicans regret that decision.

Hundreds of Panamanians marched on Thursday to mark the anniversary of a deadly uprising against U.S. control of the Panama Canal in 1964, with some protesters burning an effigy of President-elect Donald Trump who has threatened to retake the vital global waterway.

Over decades, a shift in US military strategy, larger carriers and the growth of commerce on the West Coast deemphasized US involvement.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat to take back the Panama Canal may be posturing, but it could dampen the Panamanian government’s wish to broaden relations with the United States, analysts say.