US President Donald Trump has accused Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of conspiring against the US with the leaders of Russia and North Korea.
Trump’s comments came as China hosted world leaders at its largest-ever Victory Day parade in Beijing on Wednesday – a showcase of China’s military might.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America.”
Trump previously rejected suggestions that the warming of relations between China, Russia and other nations poses a challenge to the US on the global stage.
On social media, the US president also mentioned the “massive amount of support and ‘blood'” the US gave China during World War Two. China’s parade marks 80 years of Japan’s surrender in the war and China’s victory against an occupying force.
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice!”
Xi was joined at the parade by 26 heads of state, including Kim and Putin – viewed by some observers as a message to the Western nations that have shunned them.
China has sought to position itself as a possible counterweight to the US since Trump’s tariffs rocked the global economic and political order.
Trump has pitched his tariffs as essential to protecting American interests and industry. It appears that any diplomatic cost is something he is willing to pay.
Asked by the BBC if he believed Beijing and its allies were attempting to form an international coalition to oppose the US, Trump said: “No. Not at all. China needs us.”
He added: “I have a very good relationship with President Xi, as you know. But China needs us much more than we need them. I don’t see that at all.”
Separately, in a radio interview on Tuesday, Trump said he was not concerned about the axis forming between Russia and China.
He told the Scott Jennings radio show that America has “the most powerful military forces in the world” and that “they would never use their military forces against us”.
“Believe me, that would be the worst thing they could ever do,” he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Putin, after they failed to reach a peace deal for Ukraine during their meeting in Alaska last month.
“I’m very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that,” Trump said, adding that the US “will be doing something to help people live” in Ukraine. He did not specify.
China has not criticised Putin’s full-scale invasion and has been accused by the West of aiding Russia’s war effort through its supply of dual-use materials and purchases of Russian oil. Beijing denies this.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was engaged in a new troop build up along certain sectors of the frontline.
“[Putin] refuses to be forced into peace,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address
