Joe Biden Calls China’s Xi Jinping a Dictator

US President Joe Biden called China's top leader Xi Jinping a "dictator" during a Tuesday fundraiser in California.

The recent bold remarks of the President of the US (POTUS) come days after no less than the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken officially visited Beijing.

Biden Labels China's Xi Jinping a Dictator

According to DW, President Biden likened his Chinese counterpart to a "dictator" amid his speech at a fundraiser in California. The POTUS says the spy balloon incident embarrassed the Chinese leader. It is worth noting that the incident scarred the diplomatic relations between the two giants.

During his California fundraiser, Biden talked about the spy balloon incident wherein over 125 people, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, attended.

The President says, "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 is he [did not] know it was there."

He then states it was "a great embarrassment for dictators when they [did not] know what happened."

As per NBC News, the POTUS revisited an incident last February involving a Chinese spy balloon that floated above the US. On the other hand, China claimed that the "spy balloon" is an unmanned civilian airship, which Beijing says was for meteorological research. The US Air Force shot down the aircraft when it started hovering about sensitive areas of the US Military.

State Secretary Blinken's Official China Visit

As per CNBC, Biden praised State Secretary Blinken during the fundraiser, saying he did "a good job" during his recent official visit to China. The President says, "Antony Blinken just went over there ... did a good job and [it is] going to take time."

But despite that, NBC News notes that Washington and Beijing have yet to restore all the military communication channels, which have been cut off after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit.

The recent visit of Blinken to Beijing is the first-ever since 2018. The meeting was supposed to occur last February. However, the State Secretary moved it to a later date following the spy balloon incident. After four months after the balloon incident, US and China resumed their meetings, which had been paused for roughly four months.

Nevertheless, Biden still asked his fundraising audience to avoid worrying about the growing tensions between China and the US. He told them, "[do not] worry about China. I mean, worry about China, but [do not] worry about China."

Notably, Biden's public characterization of Chinese President Xi as a dictator marks a notable shift in US-China relations. Beijing has consistently rejected accusations of human rights abuses and maintains that its policies are necessary for stability and development.

As of writing, the Chinese Embassy has yet to respond to the recent remarks of Biden against Xi.

Tags

Joe Biden, China, Xi Jinping, Dictator