The English version released by Xinhua did not include a direct reference to the US,indicating China’s propaganda department was targeting separate domestic and international audiences.

“In the coming period of time,the risks and challenges that we face will only increase and intensify ever more,” Xi said.

Bonnie Glaser,the director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund,said the direct reference to the US marked a “turning point in Xi’s policy and a sign of further deterioration in US-China relations”.

Xi has been pushing local officials to bolster their economic resilience against international sanctions by developing self-reliance in critical areas such as technology. At the same time,the Chinese government has increased defence spending by 7 per cent this year to 1.5 trillion yuan (about $300 billion). The US increased its defence spending by 8 per cent in 2023 to $US817 billion ($1.2 trillion).

“Senior policymakers increasingly see tech self-sufficiency as a life or death issue as the US steps up efforts to stymie China’s tech capacity,” said Chinese research firm Trivium.

“That means that China will employ any and all means to master critical technologies at home.”

Analysts believe Xi’s “internal circulation” model is designed to help the country weather global economic pressure in the event of a conflict. That threat has been sharpened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the crippling effects of Western sanctions on the Russian economy. China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan,the neighbouring democratic island that is home to 24 million people.

Qin told reporters in Beijing that China’s relationship with Russia was becoming more important in an increasingly volatile international environment.

“The more unstable the world becomes the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance relations,” he said.

The comments followedLi Keqiang’s final speech as premier on Sunday. Li called for China’s armed forces to “boost their combat readiness” but otherwise took a softer tone towards Taiwan.

“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family bound by blood,” he said. “We should encourage people on both sides of the strait to jointly promote Chinese culture and advance China’s rejuvenation.”

Wen-Ti Sung,a political scientist at the Australian National University who is based in Taipei,said Li’s speech showed Beijing was reaffirming existing principles on Taiwan,rather than escalating its rhetoric.

“[This] suggests Beijing’s desire to maintain stability on the Taiwan front as it tackles other more pressing priorities like great power relations and domestic economic recovery,” he said.

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