President Xi Jinping is accusing the United States of leading an international coalition to suppress China.
Xi made the comments in a private meeting with members of China’s private sector on Monday.
“The Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment and suppression on our country, bringing unprecedented severe challenges to our development,” Xi said.
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China’s President Xi Jinping arrives for the second plenary session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 7, 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
The comments were released by Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Communist Party’s official news publication.
Xi reportedly asked the private sector oligarchs to be “rich and loving” to the nation, urging them to contribute to charitable causes and public welfare.
“Be rich and responsible, be rich and benefit others, be rich and loving,” state radio quoted Xi as saying.
China is currently holding an annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, its highest legislative body, at the same time as the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory meeting.
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A man walks past a photo of President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on March 3, 2023, ahead of the opening of the National People’s Congress. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
The ongoing government conventions are together often referred to as the “two sessions” and will likely set the tone for the nation’s policies in the coming years.
Xi, 69, is expected to enter an unprecedented third term in his position as the highest-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang echoed Xi’s naming of the U.S. as a direct external threat in a press conference on the sidelines of the two sessions conference.
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China’s President Xi Jinping attends the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 7, 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
“Why does the U.S. keep on professing the maintenance of regional peace and stability while covertly formulating a plan for the destruction of Taiwan?” Qin asked.
Qin made the comments Tuesday in a warning against the United States’ continued political and military support for Taiwan.
“If the United States does not hit the brake – but continues to speed down the wrong path – no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?” Qin continued. “Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.”
