Florida's Senator Marco Rubio, nominated by president-elect Donald Trump as Secretary of State, sharply criticised China's global ambitions during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, singling out Beijing's involvement in the Panama Canal as a significant threat to US national security.

Donald Trump's former primary opponent Sen. Marco Rubio is meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday as the president-elect's secretary of state nominee.

By Patricia Zengerle, Simon Lewis, Doina Chiacu and Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of state, warned on Wednesday that the United States must change course to avoid becoming more reliant on China and do more to discourage Beijing from invading Taiwan,

Mr. Rubio expressed views aligned with those of most senators who work on foreign policy, while taking care not to break from Donald J. Trump’s unorthodox ideas.

A veteran of the Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio is widely seen as one of Trump's least controversial Cabinet picks and is expected to sail through the nomination process.

Sen. Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, is widely expected to win Senate confirmation to the post.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the next secretary of state has voiced the incoming administration’s strongest backing yet for the Aukus security pact, likely reassuring Australian officials who have been privately concerned at its commitment to the deal.