Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned that “blackmailing, blocking and extreme pressure” will lead to “nowhere but a dead end” in a thinly-veiled attack on the United States, during a speech commemorating China’s entry into the Korean War 70 years ago.
Xi was speaking at an event Friday marking the anniversary of Chinese troops crossing the border into North Korea in October 1950, a conflict that Beijing refers to as “the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.”
The Chinese leader spoke at the same time as the final US presidential debate was taking place in Nashville, Tennessee between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. During the debate, the two opponents clashed over who would be better positioned to handle China, with both men promising to stand up to a resurgent Beijing.
In his speech Friday, Xi highlighted alleged acts of US aggression towards China during the Korean War and emphasized the claim that an outgunned Chinese military managed to defeat its “legendary” American counterpart.