He did not name any particular country or provide further details.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at a ceremony in Beijing where he, along with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, presided over the signing of a raft of bilateral agreements and statements.

In a joint declaration, both countries said that attempts by some countries to dominate global affairs in the spirit of the colonial era had failed but that the world was in danger of a return to the “law of the jungle”.

“The global situation is becoming more complex,” they said in a declaration released by the Kremlin in Russian.

“The global peace and development agenda is facing new risks and challenges, and there is a danger of fragmentation of the international community and a return to the ‘law of the jungle’.”

“Attempts by a number of states to unilaterally manage global affairs, impose their interests on the entire world, and limit the sovereign development of other countries, in the spirit of the colonial era, have failed.”

They did not name those states in that section of the statement.

Both China and Russia have in the past criticised the US-led attempt to enforce global hegemony.

Earlier, Xi welcomed Putin with an honour guard and a gun salute at the Great Hall of the People, as children waved Chinese and Russian flags.