Taiwan and China have also traded barbs this week over the severing of an undersea communications cable off the Beijing-claimed island’s southwest coast.

New Zealand's foreign minister said he had raised concerns over China's recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea during meetings with Chinese leaders on Wednesday.

Beijing’s bid to balance Arab and Israeli engagement while opposing a US post-war plan could make China a more influential regional player, experts say.

China asserted on Friday that its territorial claims in the contested South China Sea are supported by a series of international treaties that date back to as early as the 1890s. Newsweek has reached out to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing for comment by email.

China is expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, as authorities walk a fine line between prioritising financial stability and providing more stimulus at a time when Beijing is facing fresh trade tensions.

China is not ready for war, according to a contentious report from a US think tank, which claims the main motivation for the ruling Communist Party’s expansive push for military modernization is to retain its grip on power – not fight an overseas foe.

China will not "sit idly by" as it is threatened by a United States missile system deployed in the Philippines that can target the country from the South China Sea, Beijing warned. Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon and the Philippine military for comment by email.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is set to close its Beijing office, as major U.S. law firms continue to scale back in the Chinese legal market.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traded policy complaints with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday, with Bessent telling Beijing to do more to curb fentanyl trafficking and rebalance its economy,

BEIJING/TAIPEI >> China on Monday urged the United States to “correct its mistakes” after the U.S. State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

Message to nation’s state-owned service providers underpins China’s bid to achieve ‘high-level technological self-reliance’.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said, "The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting." Beijing rebuffed those plans, saying it opposes forced displacement of Palestinians to neighboring countries.