China tells U.S. to reduce or halt 'close surveillance' patrols

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Thursday urged the United States to cut back on, or even stop, its close surveillance of the Asian giant using patrol aircraft, if it seriously seeks to repair damaged bilateral ties.

Ties between the world's two largest economies have been strained by competing territorial claims between China and its neighbours, some of them U.S. allies, in the South China and East China seas.