The killing of a Japanese schoolboy in the Chinese city of Shenzhen has sparked worry among Japanese expats living in China, with top firms warning their workers to be vigilant. Toshiba and Toyota have told their staff to take precautions against any possible violence,

Japan's ambassador to Beijing has asked for more security for Japanese nationals in China after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed this week in a knife attack that was the second to target school students.

China unexpectedly left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Friday, confounding market expectations that were primed for a move after the Federal Reserve delivered an outsized interest rate cut earlier this week.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it would keep the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3.35%, as well as the five-year LPR at 3.85%.

China has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side over the matter, Zhang said. China on Wednesday announced steps against nine U.S. military-linked firms over U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan.