US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (June 20) deemed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to be in the category of “dictators” during a reception in California with Democratic Party donors, attended by reporters.
Referring to a recent episode in which the United States destroyed a Chinese balloon which they believe was spying on their territory, Joe Biden assured that “the reason why [the Chinese president] got so angry when I shot down that balloon full of spy gear is that he didn’t know [that craft] was there.”
“It’s very embarrassing for dictators when they don’t know what happened,” he continued, adding, “When [the ball] was shot down [Xi Jinping] found himself very embarrassed and he even denied that [the aircraft] was there”.
“And by the way, I promise you, don’t worry about China. (…) China has real economic difficulties, ”said the 80-year-old Democrat, campaigning for his re-election.
Shock declarations and fundraising
Also on Xi Jinping, Mr. Biden said again: “We are in a situation where he wants to establish a relationship again. »
Recalling that the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, was returning from China, the American president considered that the latter had done “a good job”, but explained that it would “take time” with regard to the very tense relationship. between the two great powers.
The all-out rivalry between China and the United States had turned into an open diplomatic crisis with this balloon episode in February.
This isn’t the first time Joe Biden has made landmark statements at fundraising receptions, small-scale events where cameras, microphones and cameras are barred – but reporters in attendance can listen to the introductory remarks of the president and transcribe them.
It was during such an event, in October 2022, that Joe Biden had, for example, mentioned the risk of a nuclear “apocalypse” triggered by Russia.