Crossword Genius

Squeezing out leader from old Beijing (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eking

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'squeezing' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'leader from old beijing' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'leader' could be 'king' (a king is a royal leader) and 'king' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'out' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for eking that I've seen before include "With difficulty, making" , "Squeezing (out)" , "Managing to make (a living)" , "Increasing" , "eg Kin (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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