China has reacted angrily after US President Joe Biden referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a dictator. The comments came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Xi in Beijing in a bid to stabilise deteriorating relations between the two world powers.
President Biden made the comments during a fundraiser in California, saying that the Chinese leader was embarrassed at being caught off guard when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was found over US airspace early this year. because he was unaware it had gone off course.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Biden’s remarks were a “quote an open political provocation”, “extremely absurd” and “irresponsible”.
They came barely a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met XI Jinping in Beijing on a trip aimed at trying to thaw relations with China, that were already icy over economic, military and human rights issues, but that hit rock bottom after the US shot down the suspected spy balloon.
They agreed to stabilise the rivalry between Washington and Beijing so it did not veer into conflict.
One goal was to create conditions for future talks between the US and Chinese leaders. It’s not immediately clear if the White House will roll back the president’s comments.
The US state department said that diplomacy, like the trip just made by Blinken is the responsible way to manage tensions with China but that does not mean the US will not be forthright about the differences between them.
As Chinese leader, Xi Jinping has consolidated power. He’s done away with presidential term limits, expanded mass surveillance and crackdowns on civil society and led a campaign of mass detention in the Xinjiang region. A claim Beijing denies.
