In his opening remarks, Hegseth warned China seeks no less than hegemony over the region and is increasingly willing to resort to force. He cited confrontations in the South China Sea, including incidents in which China's coast guard used water cannon against Philippine vessels, injuring several people last year.

China’s factory activity contracted in May, according to an official survey released on Saturday, although the decline slowed from April as the country reached a deal with the U.S. to slash President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs.

China on Saturday criticised as a "double standard" attempts to link the defence of Ukraine with the need to protect Taiwan from a Chinese invasion - a thinly veiled reference to a speech by French Emmanuel Macron in Singapore on Friday night.

Trump's former ambassador to Vietnam highlighted the main reason China may hesitate to strike a trade deal with the U.S.

Beijing has high hopes for its C919 single-aisle jet after years of delay, but the plane depends on engines, avionics and other gear from Western companies.

Without these essential automotive components, it would only be a matter of time before U.S. vehicle factories are disrupted, they said.

With increasing tension between the world’s two largest economies – over rare earth minerals, over Chinese students at U.S. universities – a look at some data points.

The Tianwen-2 mission by China targets asteroid 2016 HO3 to gather samples, with plans for future missions to Mars and Jupiter, enhancing space exploration efforts.