Unusually sharp tones
Xi Jinping denounces US “oppression of China”.
3/7/2023 3:59 am
China’s economic growth has recently fallen far short of expectations, and the state leadership sees difficult omens for the current year. Head of state Xi Jinping explicitly blames the United States and the West for this.
With unusually direct words, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping accused the US and the West of trying to slow down his country’s rise in the world. On the fringes of the current annual meeting of the People’s Congress in Beijing, the president said, according to the state media, that the environment for China’s development had “changed dramatically” and that the imponderables had increased sharply.
“Western countries in particular, led by the United States, are pursuing all-out containment, encirclement and suppression of China, posing unprecedented severe challenges for China’s development.” At the same time, China is facing multiple difficulties, said Xi Jinping, citing repeated Covid-19 outbreaks and increasing pressure on the second-largest economy as examples. Last year, China missed the 5.5 percent growth target set by the government by a good 2.5 percentage points.
Xi Jinping’s open criticism contrasted with previous statements in which China’s leaders had mostly spoken vaguely of “certain countries” without directly naming the United States or the West. The comments came during discussions with delegates to the Consultative Conference, an advisory body of distinguished figures that meets in parallel with the People’s Congress.