Yeltsin, who left hospital on Monday after a week battling pneumonia and who appeared frail and stiff, said Washington should keep in mind Moscow remains a powerful military force.
"He must have, for a minute, a second, a half-minute, forgotten what Russia is. That Russia is equipped with a full arsenal of nuclear weapons. He forgot about this. And so he decided to flex his muscles, as we say."
Yeltsin's visit to China is aimed at firming up support for Moscow's military campaign in Chechnya.
Earlier in the day he had held meetings with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji.
The Russian president indicated he and his Chinese neighbours don't want to be pushed around any longer by the U-S.
"And I want to say, through you (the media): Clinton, don't forget what world you live in. You didn't, and you won't dictate to the whole world how to live, how to labour, how to work, how to relax and so forth. No, once again no. This multipolar world is based on the things we discussed with Jiang Zemin, President of the Chinese People's Republic - we will dictate to the world how to live, and not only him."