Beijing on Friday criticised the United States, Japan and the Philippines and defended its actions in the South China Sea as "lawful" after US 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.

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 behaviour 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.

"Japan and the Philippines can of course develop normal relations with other countries, but they should not invite factional opposition into the region, much less engage in trilateral cooperation at the cost of hurting another country's interests."

China also summoned a Japanese diplomat on Friday to express concern and dissatisfaction over negative comments about it aired during a summit of the leaders of the United States, Japan and Philippines, the Foreign Ministry said. (Agencies)