Joe Biden Labels Chinese President Xi Jinping a “Dictator”

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Joe Biden Takes Aim at Chinese President

US President Joe Biden made a bold statement during a fundraising event in California, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a dictator. This remark followed a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Xi in Beijing, which aimed to ease tensions between the United States and China.

Biden also suggested that Xi was embarrassed by the US’s alleged shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon. He stated, “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset, in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it, was he didn’t know it was there. That’s a great embarrassment for dictators when they didn’t know what happened.”

The balloon, claimed by China as a weather monitoring device, drifted across the continental US before being destroyed by American military aircraft in February. The incident was later revealed to be part of a larger Chinese intelligence collection program. Following the incident, Blinken postponed his visit to Beijing, which had been scheduled at the same time.

President Joe Biden compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to “dictators” during a political fundraiser in California https://t.co/qj6ZQIbwtf

— CNN (@CNN) June 21, 2023

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning strongly condemned Biden’s comments, deeming them “extremely absurd and irresponsible.” During a routine press conference, she described the remarks as “an open political provocation” that violated diplomatic norms.

Despite the tense exchange, Blinken’s visit marked a restart of high-level communications between the two countries, with Xi acknowledging some progress made during the discussions. Both sides expressed openness to further talks, although significant differences still persist.

The US-China relationship has deteriorated due to factors such as the trade war initiated during the Trump administration, Beijing’s assertive stance on Taiwan, and the alleged spy balloon incident.

As tensions continue to simmer, Biden’s characterization of Xi Jinping as a dictator adds another layer of complexity to the already strained diplomatic relations between the world’s two largest economies.