US President Donald Trump dismissed claims that closer ties between China, Russia and their partners threaten America’s standing on the global stage.
The US President, during an interaction with reporters in the Oval Office, said he has a “very good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that China “needs us much more than we need them”.
His comments came ahead of a massive military parade in Beijing -- where leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un would be present.
The highly choreographed “Victory Day” spectacle comes as US President Donald Trump's "America First" stance and trade wars have strained Washington's long-standing alliances.
When asked by BBC if he believed that Beijing and its allies were attempting to form an international coalition to oppose the US, Trump said: "No. Not at all. China needs us."
“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,” he added.
Separately, Trump expressed confidence that Beijing would not aim its defense assets at the US in the future.
“We have the strongest military in the world, by far,” Trump said in a radio interview with Scott Jennings, a conservative commentator. “They would never use their military on us -- believe me, that would be the worst thing they could ever do.”
Earlier this week, Xi unveiled his vision of a new global order at a regional security summit, calling for unity against "hegemonism and power politics" -- a thinly veiled swipe at the United States and Trump's tariff policies.
"We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practise true multilateralism," Xi said.
Xi was hosting more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation -- a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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