China's forex reserves have fallen below $3 trillion for the first time in nearly six years in January. The rate of contraction has slowed as China closes up its capital account, but for a country obsessed with symbolic numbers, targets, quotas and index levels, a worrying line in the sand has been crossed.

The United States needs to brush up on its history about the South China Sea, as World War Two-related agreements mandated that all Chinese territories taken by Japan had to be returned to China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Australia.

The United States’ relationship with China was strained during the Obama administration, with sharp differences over economic and trade issues, cyberattacks and Beijing’s assertive maneuvers in the South China Sea.

The European Union is ready to join China in fighting protectionism worldwide but Beijing also needs to show it can play fair on trade and investment, the bloc's trade chief said on Monday.

China has formally complained to the authorities in Washington over newly-imposed US sanctions against Iran which it says will severely affect Chinese businesses.

Executives of two Chinese companies included on a new U.S. sanctions list targeting Iran said on Sunday they had only exported "normal" goods to the Middle Eastern country and didn't consider they had done anything wrong.

China is disappointed at continued high U.S. tax rates on Chinese steel products and will take necessary steps to protect the rights of its enterprises, a Ministry of Commerce official said on Saturday.

* China factory, services surveys point to further solid growth * Some analysts say signs of easing momentum need to be watched * Stable growth would give gov't more room to tackle debt risks

China is stepping up preparedness for a possible military conflict with the US as the Donald Trump presidency has increased the risk of hostilities breaking out, state media and military observers said.

President Donald Trump will seek quick progress toward a bilateral trade agreement with Japan in place of a broader Asia-Pacific deal he abandoned this week, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the White House next month, an official in the Trump administration said on Thursday.