Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai removed wreaths, candles and bottles of Chinese alcohol, offerings laid at the scene of the deadliest mass killing in the country in a decade.

Chinese president Xi Jinping ordered an "all-out effort" to treat the injured and called for severe punishment of a man who rammed his car into people at a sports centre in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people.