China's bomber training is 'rapidly' expanding and likely to strike on US, Pentagon report suggests

China has rapidly expanded its bomber operations while “likely training for strikes” on the United States and its allies, according to a Pentagon report.

The analysis came in an annual report that highlighted the East Asian country’s efforts to increase its global influence with defence spending that exceeded an estimated $190 billion in 2017.

Its comes as China and the US plan to hold trade talks, offering hope they might resolve an escalating tariff conflict that threatens to degenerate into an all-out trade war.

"Over the last three years, the PLA [China’s People’s Liberation Army] has rapidly expanded its overwater bomber operating areas, gaining experience in critical maritime regions and likely training for strikes against U.S. and allied targets," the report said.

While the PLA had continued to extend operations, it was not clear what message Beijing was seeking to send by carrying out the flights "beyond a demonstration of improved capabilities”, it added.

The Chinese embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment.

This year China’s air force landed bombers on islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the disputed region.

In January the Pentagon put countering Beijing, along with Russia, at the centre of a new national defence strategy.

While Washington and Beijing maintain a military-to-military relationship aimed at containing tensions, this has been tested in recent months, notably in May when the Pentagon withdrew an invitation to China to join a multinational naval exercise.

The Pentagon report said that despite a projected slowdown in economic growth, China's official defence budget would be more than $240 billion by 2028.