China lashes out at foreign companies as it tries to weaken support for Hong Kong protests

Xi issues warning to ‘external forces’ as China faces criticism over Hong Kong protests, and Xinjiang criticism

During his visit to Nepal, a first for a Chinese president in 22 years, Xi Jinping warned that any attempt to divide China will be crushed.

“Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones. And any external forces backing such attempts dividing China will be deemed by the Chinese people as pipe-dreaming,” Xi said to Nepal’s prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, during a meeting on Sunday, according to CCTV.

Nepal’s prime minister Oli told Xi the country would oppose any “anti-China activities” on its soil, CCTV reported.

Xi Jinping did not mention any region, but riot police and protesters clashed again in Hong Kong over the weekend.

China has seen its political authority tested by increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong against Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.

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Hong Kong police used rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon against protestors, which has been plunged into its worst political crisis in decades.

US government last week also blacklisted 28 Chinese companies and US Secretary Mike Pompeo announced visa restrictions on China officials over Uyghur crackdown in Xinjiang province.

Featured image: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a welcome ceremony held by Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Photo: Xinhua