Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he had "zero doubt" that China has a contingency plan to shut down the Panama Canal in the event of a conflict with the U.S. and that Washington intends to address what it sees as a national security threat.

At a hearing in response to President Donald Trump's threats to "take back" the Panama Canal, senators were concerned over Chinese influence on the canal.

People across China have taken to social media to hail the success of its homegrown tech startup DeepSeek and its founder, after the company unveiled its newest artificial intelligence model, sending shock waves through Silicon Valley and Wall Street.