Beijing on Friday criticized the United States, Japan and the Philippines and defended its actions in the South China Sea as "lawful" after President Joe Biden hosted a trilateral meeting in Washington.

Biden on Thursday pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea at the White House summit, which came amid repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waterway that have raised fears of wider conflict, AFP reported. 

A joint statement issued by the leaders of the trio of nations voiced "serious concern" over Beijing's actions in the South China Sea, slamming its behavior as "dangerous and aggressive".

On Friday China hit out at the joint summit in Washington, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying Beijing "firmly opposes the relevant countries manipulating bloc politics, and firmly opposes any behavior that provokes or lays plans for opposition, and hurts other countries' strategic security and interests".

"We firmly oppose engaging in closed cliques that exclude others in the region," Mao told a regular press conference.