The truce will have been short-lived. Just as the US Secretary of State returned from a trip to China, US President Joe Biden likened his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to a “dictator”. The remark was lambasted by Beijing on Wednesday.
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.”
He was speaking at a reception in California with Democratic Party donors, attended by reporters. “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. »
Asked about this, a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Mao Ning, unsurprisingly condemned these remarks. “This remark from the US side is really absurd, very irresponsible, does not reflect reality, contravenes diplomatic practices, and seriously undermines China’s political dignity,” she told reporters.
“This is openly a political provocation,” the spokesperson blasted. The talks come as Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day visit to Beijing on Monday, the first by an American top diplomat in nearly five years.
His meeting with Xi Jinping was hailed by both countries as a success after months of tension, despite the persistence of deep disagreements.
Still about Xi Jinping, Joe Biden said again: “We are in a situation where he wants to establish a relationship again. The US president said Blinken had done a “good job” in China, but said it would “take time” to heal the very strained relationship between the two great powers.
“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 re-election. The all-out rivalry between China and the United States had turned into an open diplomatic crisis with the balloon episode in February.
The US president referred to another sticking point with China: the summit at which the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States – known as the “Quad” – addressed in May thinly veiled criticism of Beijing’s Asia-Pacific policy, which they see as a source of instability.
The four countries are “working hand in hand in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean,” said Joe Biden, who said this show of unity between the four countries was what had “really upset” the Chinese president.
This is not the first time that Joe Biden has made landmark statements at fundraising receptions, small-scale events where cameras, microphones and cameras are excluded – but journalists present can listen to the introductory remarks of the president and transcribe them.
It was during such an event, in October 2022, that Joe Biden, for example, mentioned the risk of a nuclear “apocalypse” triggered by Russia.
