China has accused Donald Trump of engaging in “misguided actions”, laying bare the mounting tensions between the world’s largest economies as their trade war threatens to escalate into a broader regional confrontation.

The rebuke to the US president, made during a visit to Beijing by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, comes just days after a stinging speech by Mike Pence, in which the US vice-president accused China of meddling in the US’s midterm elections.

Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, accused Mr Trump of “constantly ramping up” trade disputes, “hurting China’s interest” in Taiwan and finding fault with China’s domestic and external affairs “without reason”.

“We demand the US stop such misguided actions,” Mr Wang said, reminding Mr Pompeo that Beijing was key to any agreement with North Korea. “Two major powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council need to, and should, increase communication and co-operation, taking on responsibilities in international society.”

Mr Trump’s tariff brinkmanship with Beijing, which includes new duties on nearly half of all Chinese imports, has rattled international markets with the IMF warning it could damage already struggling emerging markets.

China’s central bank on Monday again pumped cash into the country’s banking system in an effort to spur lending in the face an economy slowed by US trade pressure. But the move failed to assuage investors, with the Shanghai Composite falling 3.7 per cent while the renminbi fell 0.9 per cent against the dollar.

However, the diplomatic discord of recent days is a sign bilateral tensions have moved well beyond the trade sphere and comes after the White House approved a $330m arms sale to Taiwan.

Speaking alongside Mr Wang on Monday, Mr Pompeo said there was a “fundamental disagreement” on the issues Mr Wang had raised. “I regret that the strategic dialogue between our two countries was something that you all chose not to undertake,” he told Mr Wang.

A whirlwind of top-level diplomacy is expected over North Korea in the coming months, and Mr Pompeo said Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, had agreed to a second summit with Mr Trump “as soon as possible”. He added North Korea was willing to allow international inspectors to assess the country’s steps towards denuclearisation.

China’s President Xi Jinping is also expected to travel to Pyongyang, according to South Korean head of state Moon Jae-in, who added that a summit between North Korea and Japan was also possible. But the widening divide between the US and China threatens to overshadow progress, according to analysts.

“The strategic competition between US and China has become more and more intense and it has also become the geopolitical issue that concerns China the most,” said Zhao Tong, of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. “Under these circumstances, the core goal of Chinese diplomacy inevitably shifts to securing an advantage position in the competition with the US.”

Mr Pompeo arrived in Beijing after a visit to Pyongyang, where he held “productive and wonderful” talks with Mr Kim, according to official North Korean news agency KCNA.

Russia has invited Mr Kim to make a state visit but no specific details have been agreed, the Kremlin said.

“The invitation is with the North Korean leader. When the details of such a trip are agreed through diplomatic channels, we will make the appropriate announcement,” said Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.