President Xi Jinping told James Mattis, the US Defence Secretary, he wouldn’t give up any territory that China considered its own, an unusually blunt warning as security disputes simmer below a fight over trade.

Xi made his remarks while meeting Mr Mattis on Wednesday in Beijing, the first such visit by a US defence chief in more than four years.

The comments appeared to be a reference to US complaints about Chinese military deployments in the disputed South China Sea and a push by American lawmakers to expand ties with the democratically run island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province.

“Our stance is steadfast and clear-cut when it comes to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. “We cannot lose one inch of territory passed down by our ancestors. Meanwhile, we want nothing from others.”

The meeting illustrates how disputes between the world’s two largest economies extend beyond US President Donald Trump’s plans to slap tariffs on Chinese goods and restrict the country’s investments.