China says it has ‘irrefutable evidence’ the US’s National Security Agency (NSA) has accessed stolen credentials and used these to breach network systems at the center as far back as 2022. China warns these serious incidents may have disrupted financial systems, power supplies, communications networks, and the international standard time.

A further increase in China’s trade surplus failed to fully offset the effects of a worsening housing market, which has left consumers wary.

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.