Taiwan arms sale ‘hurts China security’

US arms sales to Taiwan hurt China’s national security, its foreign minister said, escalating the rhetoric in a dispute threatening to deepen rifts between the world’s biggest and third-biggest economies.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was the latest and most senior official todenounce the arms sale plan Washington announced on Friday.

The Obama administration has defended the package worth about $6.4 billion (€4.6bn) as necessary to boost regional security.