Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the annual session of the Chinese parliament in Beijing, criticized his country’s policy of “containment” and “repression” which he says is being implemented by Western governments, especially that of the United States, state media reported. media.

“Western countries, led by the US, have implemented a comprehensive policy of containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which poses unprecedented challenges to our country’s development,” the head of state said, according to a cable by the news agency. New China aired last night Monday.

Issues causing friction between Beijing and the West have multiplied in recent years: they range from the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority to the imbalance of trade balances, passing through the Taiwan affair, dominance in the field of technology, accusations of espionage. ..

They translated into the imposition of Western sanctions, above all American ones, especially in the trade field, which China retaliated against.

“The external environment for China’s development experienced rapid changes. Uncertain and unpredictable factors have greatly increased,” Xi said, according to New China.

At the same time, the country is facing multiple challenges and difficulties, the Chinese president continued, referring in particular to the new coronavirus pandemic and the pressures on the country’s economy that have slowed its growth.

The comments by the 69-year-old president, who is set to begin his unprecedented third term in office in a few days, are in stark contrast to previous positions by the Chinese political leadership, which referred vaguely to “certain countries” while avoiding naming them. name.

Last month, tensions in Sino-US relations reached a new high after the US Air Force shot down a Chinese hot air balloon, which Washington claimed was a spy balloon that was about to fly over key US military installations, which Washington strongly denied. Beijing.

The case forced US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to China, with the theoretical aim of easing bilateral tensions on some key issues, notably the war in Ukraine, the two states’ competition in the field of cutting-edge technologies and for Taiwan.

The US and China are waging a fierce battle over semiconductor manufacturing, as the Americans have lost their dominant position in the sector to the Chinese giant.

Citing an alleged threat to its national security, the US has in recent months multiplied sanctions against Chinese microchip makers, preventing them from procuring US technologies.

Moreover, Western parliamentarians, above all Americans, make repeated visits to Taiwan, an island that Beijing considers a breakaway province of China destined to be reunited with the mainland in the future, exacerbating Chinese anger.