Beijing: US Vice-President Mike Pence is due to give a highly provocative speech on Thursday, US time, accusing China of "reckless harassment" of the US Navy in the South China Sea and political interference, in a step sure to worsen relations between the world's number one and two economies.

"China wants a different American president," Pence will say in his speech, according to excerpts given to US media outlets.

“Beijing has mobilised covert actors, front groups and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies,” Pence will say. “As a senior career member of our intelligence community recently told me, what the Russians are doing pales in comparison to what China is doing across this country.”

The New York Times reported there was "no hard evidence of Chinese election meddling" in the excerpts of Pence's speech provided to US media ahead of its delivery at the Hudson Institute on Thursday.