**China says it has successfully tested military technology which intercepts missiles in mid-air.**A brief report on the state news agency said the test had been defensive and had not been targeted at any country.
The test came shortly after the US approved selling air defence missiles to Taiwan despite Chinese protests.
China - which regards Taiwan as part of its territory - has warned the US that relations could be disrupted if the sale goes ahead.
A three-line statement from the official news agency Xinhua said only that China had tested a ground-based “missile interception technology” which had “achieved its expected objective”.
China has dramatically increased defence spending in the past few years, in a bid to modernise the People’s Liberation Army.
Communist China has threatened to take back Taiwan by force, if necessary.