President Biden called the Chinese leader a dictator / Beijing reacts harshly

2023-06-22 20:00:09, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States is not backing down from comments made by President Joe Biden, who days ago compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to a dictator. Mr. Biden's comments came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China in an effort to repair relations between the two countries. Beijing has reacted strongly to President Biden's comments.

President Biden's comments comparing Chinese leader Xi Jinping to a dictator should come as no surprise, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

"We will not hesitate to point out the areas where we disagree, or to speak openly about some of these differences. The President and Secretary of State have clearly expressed the difference between democracies and autocracies," he said.

During a fund-raiser for his presidential campaign, President Biden said Mr. Xi was unaware of the suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over American territory that was shot down by the U.S. military in February.

"This is a big embarrassment for dictators, when they don't know what's going on," Mr. Biden said, adding that when the U.S. dropped the balloon, Mr. Xi was tight-lipped and denied its existence.

President Biden: Xi Jinping, dictator
June 22, 5:00 p.m

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning reacted sharply on Wednesday during a press conference.

"The remarks of the US are extremely absurd and irresponsible, contradict the facts, seriously violate diplomatic protocol and seriously violate China's political dignity. It is an open political provocation," she said.

President Biden made the comments a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a visit to Beijing in an effort to repair bilateral relations, further damaged by the balloon incident.

"If the engagements we are seeing are then followed by such direct criticism from very high officials, I think the Chinese side will ask the question what is the purpose of the engagement in the first place," the analyst told VOA . Zack Cooper with the American Enterprise Institute.

While Secretary Blinken's visit failed to bring any progress, he and President Xi agreed to reduce US-China tensions so that they do not escalate into conflict./ VOA