Chinese people should not be played with, Xi warns at military event

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China will never allow its sovereignty, security and development interests to be undermined, and that the Chinese people should not be played with.

Any act of unilateralism, monopolism and intimidation would not work and would only lead to a dead end, Xi said in a speech in the Great Hall of the People.

“Let the world know that ‘the people of China are now organized and should not be played with,” Xi said, quoting Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China.

Xi spoke on the 70th anniversary of the deployment of Chinese troops to the Korean Peninsula to help North Korea fight the United States-led UN and South Korean forces during the 1950-53 war.

Xi did not directly address the current United States, whose ties with China have sunk to their lowest level in decades amid disputes with the Trump administration.

The world’s two largest economies have clashed over issues ranging from security, technology and trade rivalry to human rights and the coronavirus.

Xi also called for accelerating the modernization of the country’s defense and armed forces.

“Without a strong army, there cannot be a strong homeland,” he said.

American tensions

North Korea went to war in 1950 with the South, which was backed by UN forces consisting mainly of American troops.

In October 1950, Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River on the North Korean border while the Soviets provided air cover.

Emphasizing the geopolitical importance of North Korea, Mao said: “If the lips are gone, the teeth will get cold too.”

The Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953, rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war.

More than 2 million Chinese troops were deployed.

“After arduous battles, Chinese and Korean troops, armed to the teeth, defeated their opponents, breaking the myth of the invincibility of the US military and forcing the invaders to sign the armistice agreement on July 27, 1953.” Xi said.

Earlier this week, the United States approved the possible sale of weapons systems to Taiwan for a total value of $ 1.8 billion, enraging China.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rogue province that it has vowed to control, by force if necessary. Washington is required by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.