China has reported that its economy expanded at the slowest annual pace in a year in July-September, growing 4.8%, weighed down by trade tensions with the United States and slack domestic demand.

US officials claim that Chinese-run ports are helping Beijing to gather intelligence. Ports in Greece, Nigeria and Sri Lanka have welcomed Chinese warships, while China’s first overseas military base, in the tiny African nation of Djibouti, began life as a “logistics hub” next to a Chinese-owned port.

Australia has raised concerns with Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near one of its maritime patrol planes, the defence department said on Monday, labelling the incident "unsafe and unprofessional".

One of China’s most important meetings begins Monday, as its top leader Xi Jinping and other ruling Communist Party elites gather in Beijing to map out the country’s goals for the next five years.

Australia has accused a Chinese military aircraft of releasing flares "in close proximity" to its patrol jet over the South China Sea. The Australian government has raised its concern with Beijing over the "unsafe and unprofessional" manoeuvre, the defence department said in a statement on Monday.

China has formalised the new role of top trade negotiator Li Chenggang, dropping him from the post of permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, the official news agency Xinhua said on Monday.

China churned out less coal and steel in September as demand slumped and producers heeded the government’s call to rein in excessive output.

The China unit said it had sent the memo to employees to clarify a “confusing” email sent the previous day from Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters. It also told staff that operations were “completely normal” and that they would continue to be paid.

China's exports of rare earth magnets fell in September, reigniting fears that the world's top supplier could wield its dominance over a component key for U.S. defence firms and makers of items from cars to smartphones as leverage in trade talks.

China and the United States agreed Saturday to conduct another round of trade negotiations in the coming week, as the world's two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.