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The phrase is drawn from a traditional Chinese saying, but Xi's comments were made as a Hong Kong police crackdown on protesters has become more forceful, and speculation mounts over whether Beijing will send in the Chinese military.

The China Daily newspaper said in a Monday editorial that Beijing had been patient on Hong Kong because it was aware of "grievances about future livelihoods that need to be aired", but warned "it will by no means allow the chaos to continue indefinitely as it is taking a heavy toll on Hong Kong's rule of law".

If the Hong Kong government required help to restore order "such help will be forthcoming".

The US Congress will this week consider passing a Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require annual assessments of whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from Beijing to justify special trading status.