China has accused the US of "stirring up trouble" in the South China Sea in a fresh bid to stake claim to miles of international waters.
Fu Cong, China's ambassador to the UN, this week launched into a series of attacks on America at the UN Security Council.
He claimed China's territorial and maritime ambitions in the water were backed by "historical and legal" precedent - and reiterated his country's position that it neither accepts nor recognises the South China Sea arbitration.
The arbitration, a legal case brought by the Philippines against China in the The Hague 12 years ago, found that Beijing's claims to the area had no standing.
And though Fu hailed how the sea had remained "generally stable" over the last few years, he then launched into a bitter series of barbs at the US.
"The US has not joined the United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea, yet it behaves like a self-appointed judge, interfering in others' affairs," he said.
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|Fu Cong, China's ambassador to the UN, this week launched into a series of attacks on America
He also attacked American military drills in the South China Sea - and accused the US Armed Forces of "intruding" into Chinese-claimed waters and airspace.
"Who is stirring up trouble in the South China Sea and messing up the region? That is something everyone clearly knows," Fu said.
"Who is coercing and bullying and endangering the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is also self-evident," he added.
But the ambassador's words came just hours before Donald Trump revealed he may head to China "soon".
"President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office.
"A little bit out, but not too distant.
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|PICTURED: Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka
"And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon."
The US President was speaking alongside his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr - who Trump said he had pushed away from China's grasp.
"The country was maybe tilting toward China for a period of time, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly," Trump said.
"I don't mind if he gets along with China, because we're getting along with China very well."
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REUTERS | PICTURED: American and Australian vessels sail through the South China SeaMarcos Jr, who took office in 2022, has pushed for American backing in the South China Sea for years.
The Phillipines has strained to avoid open confrontation with China - but it holds a Nato-style defensive treaty with the US, which could bring in the Americans if a war did break out.
No plans are yet in place for a Trump-Xi meeting - but the end of October or start of November could see the heads of the world's two largest economies meet again.
One possible trip would be September 3 - a ceremony in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which Vladimir Putin also plans to attend.