Taipei said in July it was hopefully it would receive all 66 F-16V jets by the end of 2026, adding to one of Asia's largest fleets. The aircraft, approved for sale in 2019, are being built by Lockheed Martin— also sanctioned by China.

China has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side over the matter, Zhang said. China on Wednesday announced steps against nine U.S. military-linked firms over U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan.

In a call with China’s vice-foreign minister Sun Weidong on Thursday, Japan’s ambassador Kenji Kanasugi “strongly urged” Beijing to share detailed information about the incident, which was the second targeted attack on Japanese schoolchildren in China in recent months.

Japan's ambassador to Beijing has asked for more security for Japanese nationals in China after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed this week in a knife attack that was the second to target school students.

Chinese banks maintained their benchmark lending rates for September, as policymakers hold off on further monetary stimulus while financial institutions struggle with record-low profit margins.

China unexpectedly left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Friday, despite the Federal Reserve delivering an outsized interest rate cut earlier this week. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.