Chinese President Xi Jinping takes veiled swipe at US ‘hegemony’ in wake of ‘spy balloon’ row
- Xi said Beijing could not accept acts such as ‘weaponising trade and suppressing the development of other countries’ in a meeting with Cambodian leader Hun Sen
- Hun Sen said Cambodia has ‘always stood with the Chinese people’ during his visit which is trying to secure further investment in the country
Xi made the comments during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Beijing on Friday, where he also told his guest: “Development is not the right of only a few countries.”
“Engaging in ideological confrontation, politicising and weaponising economic, trade and scientific exchanges, pushing for decoupling, curbing and suppressing the development of other countries, and asking regional countries to take sides, all are acts of hegemony that are unpopular,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
China, Xi added, would “firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests so as to uphold international justice”.
The remarks come amid the row over the downing of the balloon, which the US said was part of a high-altitude surveillance programme targeting more than 40 countries across five continents. Beijing denied the accusation, which it said was part of Washington-led information warfare against China, and insisted it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course.