Senior US officials were caught off guard when US President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator. According to NBC News, officials have privately tried to clarify that the US leader’s remarks do not reflect the country’s official policy.
At the same time, White House officials do not expect the US president’s remarks to result in the loss of progress made by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
According to a Biden administration official, the US president believes diplomacy is a responsible way to reduce tensions. “Secretary Blinken had fun and made progress. We have every reason to count on the continued development of this progress,” the source said.
Speaking at a fundraising event in California, the US president called Xi Jinping a dictator. This happened the day after the visit of the US Secretary of State to China, where he met, among others, the President of the People’s Republic of China. Biden during his speech commented on the scandal surrounding the Chinese intelligence investigation shot down on the United States in early 2023.
“The reason Xi Jinping was very unhappy when I shot down this balloon with two spy equipment cars is because he didn’t know about this balloon. And dictators don’t like it very much. When they don’t know what’s going on. It shouldn’t have happened where it happened. He got lost, “said the American president.
After Biden’s statement, China’s foreign ministry protested. Mao Ning, spokesman for the department, said the US president’s remarks “are an overt political provocation”.
The visit of US Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken took place on June 19 and 20. Following the talks, the parties indicated that they had managed to make some progress. Significant differences remain between Washington and Beijing on key issues, Blinken said. In turn, the PRC noted that relations between the two states are at their lowest point in more than 40 years. The last time a US Secretary of State visited China was 5 years ago. The position was then held by Mike Pompeo, who advocated an uncompromising confrontation with Beijing during the last years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
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