By Derek Cai BBC News
US President Joe Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraiser in California.
His remarks come a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Xi for talks in Beijing, which were aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers.
Mr Xi said some progress had been made in Beijing, while Mr Blinken indicated both sides were open to more talks.
China is yet to respond to Mr Biden’s comments.
President Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night local time, also said Mr Xi was embarrassed over the recent tensions around a Chinese spy balloon that had been blown off course over the US.
“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 in it, was he didn’t know it was there,” Mr Biden said.
“That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened.”
Mr Blinken’s visit to Beijing - the first by a top US diplomat in almost five years - restarted high-level communications between the two countries. Both Mr Biden and Mr Xi hailed it as a welcome development. But Mr Blinken made clear that major differences remain between the two countries.
Washington and Beijing have long locked horns over an array of issues including trade, human rights, and Taiwan.
But relations have especially deteriorated in the past year. With the US election looming and tensions with China emerging as a political issue, some Republican senators have attacked the Biden administration for being “soft” on China.
I love how they spent months trying to convince China to reopen diplomatic relations, and then scuttled all the effort within 24 hours. 😂
Biden’s response when asked about the impact of the dictator remark on US-China relations:
“The idea of my choosing and avoiding saying what I think is the facts with regard to the relationship with … China is, is just not something I am going to change very much,”
Like huh ? Would honestly recommend looking up the video of this one cause it’s even more baffling hearing it. Then goes on to say:
"I don’t think it’s had any real consequence”
How can he just decide that’s the case, wasn’t the vibe I got when the Chinese FM spokesperson described it as an “open provocation”.
Basically if we unpack what he’s saying there is that he thinks US has leverage over China, and he thinks that he can say whatever he wants because China’s gonna have to bow down. This was the same logic that was used when Russia said that admitting Ukraine into NATO was a red line.
Yes, this is it.
I think that Parenti got it right in his lecture about the US war on Yugoslavia. He said that the US does not do traditional diplomacy, but issues a set of demands instead and uses violence when the other side does not obey. Then they claim that it is their fault that violence happened.
This is arrogant barbarism tolerated only because of their economic and military dominance over the world. If any other nation acted that way, they would most likely be ridiculed and put in their place.
Yup, and now US bit off more than they can chew in Ukraine due to sheer arrogance. Amazingly, it seems that nothing has been learned from that debacle and they’re trying to provoke China before having even finished losing to Russia. Absolutely incredible stuff.
This circus would be hilarious if the clowns did not have nukes and the biggest military in the world following their commands.
indeed, nothing like having a geriatric who doesn’t know where he is half the time hold the nuclear codes that could end human civilization