Dec 15 (Reuters) - Mainland China reported 17 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 14, up from 16 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Tuesday.

The National Health Commission, in a statement, said 14 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. An additional three locally transmitted cases were also reported, two in Heilongjiang province and one in Sichuan.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, not classified by China as confirmed cases, fell to eight from nine a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China now stands at 86,758. The death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.

(Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Se Young Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue)