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Biden calls Chinese president Xi a

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‘dictator’ a day after Blinken visit aimed

at easing tensions
US president’s comments come just as two countries seek to dial
down intense rivalry

Reuters
Wed 21 Jun 2023 04.29 BST

US president Joe Biden (R) and China's president Xi Jinping pictured in November. Biden has
called Xi a ‘dictator’. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

US president Joe Biden has called Chinese president Xi Jinping a dictator and
said Xi was very embarrassed when a Chinese balloon was blown off course
over the US earlier this year.

Biden made the remarks one day after secretary of state Antony Blinken met
Xi on a trip to China that was aimed at easing tensions between the two
countries.

“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,” Biden said at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday.

“That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what
happened. That wasn’t supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off
course,” Biden added.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over US airspace in February. That

incident and exchanges of visits by US and Taiwanese officials have recently
magnified USNChina tensions.

In March, Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as president, making

him China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

Biden also said that China “has real economic difficulties”.

China’s economy stumbled in May with industrial output and retail sales
growth missing forecasts, adding to expectations that Beijing will need to do
more to shore up a shaky post-pandemic recovery.

The World Bank earlier this month forecast US growth for 2023 at 1.1%, more
than double the 0.5% forecast in January, while China’s growth is expected
to climb to 5.6%, compared to a 4.3% forecast in January.

Blinken and Xi agreed in their Monday meeting to stabilize the intense

rivalry between Washington and Beijing so it did not veer into conflict, but
failed to produce any breakthrough during a rare visit to China by the
secretary of state.

They did agree to continue diplomatic engagement with more visits by US

officials in the coming weeks and months. Biden said later on Tuesday that
US climate envoy John Kerry may go to China soon.
 Biden said on Monday he thought relations between the two countries were
on the right path, and he indicated that progress was made during Blinken’s
trip.

Biden said on Tuesday that Xi had been concerned by the so-called Quad
strategic security group, which includes Japan, Australia, India and the US.
The US president said he previously told Xi the US was not trying to encircle
China with the Quad.

“He called me and told me not to do that because it was putting him in a
bind,” Biden said.

Later this week, Biden will meet Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and
China is expected to be a topic of discussion between the two leaders.

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