Trump says China no threat, then accuses Xi of ‘conspiring against US’
Wednesday, 03 September 2025 7:17 AM
[ Last Update: Wednesday, 03 September 2025 7:17 AM ]
[ Last Update: Wednesday, 03 September 2025 7:17 AM ]
US President Donald Trump has accused his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, of conspiring against the US with the leaders of Russia and North Korea as the Chinese president hosted foreign leaders at a major military parade in Beijing.
“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America,” Trump said on his Truth Social site, referring to the leaders of Russia and North Korea, without elaborating.
Trump also questioned whether Xi would credit the US in a speech on Wednesday before the parade for the “massive amount of support” it allegedly provided to China during World War II.
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory,” Trump claimed.
President Xi ultimately didn’t directly mention the US, though he offered his gratitude toward unspecified nations that helped Beijing.
China hosted the parade to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II. The highly choreographed spectacle was attended by dozens of heads of state and government, including those from Iran, Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Belarus, Serbia and Slovakia.
Xi was joined at the parade by 26 heads of state, including Kim and Putin, who are 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.
Xi hopes to use that sway to erode American influence, especially in Asia, where China and the US face a potential military conflict over Taiwan.
Trump’s accusation follows his earlier comments in which he dismissed the idea that the parade posed a challenge to US power.
“I have a very good relationship with President Xi, as you know,” he told reporters in the Oval Office hours before the event. "But China needs us much more than we need them.”
Trump also said in a radio interview that Beijing would not aim its defense assets at the US in the future.
“We have the strongest military in the world. They would never use their military on us — believe me, that would be the worst thing they could ever do,” he claimed.
While Trump has embraced Putin since returning to office in a bid to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, ties between the two men have frayed as Russia continues its “special military operation” on its neighbor.
In the Oval Office earlier, Trump said he had recently “learned things that will be very interesting” about Putin, adding that he was “watching very closely” to see if the Russian leader would relent and schedule a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We’ll see if anything comes out of it. If it doesn’t, we’ll take a different stance,” Trump said.