China, Japan and South Korea agreed to jointly respond to U.S. tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said on Monday, an assertion Seoul called "somewhat exaggerated", while Tokyo said there was no such discussion.

China is seeking to coordinate its response to U.S. tariffs with Japan and South Korea, Chinese state media said.

As per Chinese State Media, the three neighbouring countries held their first economic dialogue in five years, in which they discussed how to counter the tariffs from the United States.

China's launches drills around Taiwan to "severely punish" the island's pro-independence leader, as the U.S. boosts its war footing in Japan to deter Chinese "aggression."

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, regularly holds exercises around the island, including one begun on Tuesday it said was to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence".

The drills come just two weeks after a large-scale exercise in mid-March, when Beijing sent a large number of drones and ships toward the island. Beijing sends warplanes and navy