Security threats from China will be discussed by Nato leaders at a forthcoming summit for the first time, according to the US ambassador to the alliance, as Dominic Raab has said China’s treatment of a British consulate employee amounted to “torture”.

Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison said the meeting in London Dec 4, would consider threats from China “that could harm any of us”.

Previewing the Nato Foreign Ministers meeting held today in Brussels, the US permanent representative to Nato said the Nato summit in London in December to mark 70 years of the alliance, which the Prime Minister is expected to attend, would consider “the opportunities as well as the challenges with China”.

“China has been much more active in global security issues. That means we are going to have to assess the risk of China if they don’t stay in the rules based order that we hope they will.

“We are open to new [ballistic missile] arms control agreements,” she said, warning that China was “the owner and operator of new missile systems that could harm any of us if used”.