President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” on Tuesday, sparking an angry reaction from Beijing in a sudden flare-up after talks between the two superpowers aimed at easing their geopolitical animosity.
Speaking at a campaign fundraiser in California, Biden suggested that Xi was embarrassed because he did not know about the alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States earlier this year, despite his status as China’s all-powerful leader.
China quickly hit back at the remarks, branding them "extremely absurd and irresponsible."
The president's description of Xi came one day after a high-level visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, an effort to calm tensions between the U.S. and China. Blinken told NBC News after his visit that the spy balloon “chapter should be closed” and both sides pledged to try and stabilize the relationship
At Tuesday night's first fundraiser, Biden said Xi had become more concerned with the Quad strategic security group, which is made up of the U.S., Australia, Japan and India. The group has spoken openly about acting as a buffer to Chinese interests, but Biden said he assured Xi that China did not need to be concerned.
Biden also told the crowd they should not be concerned about recent friction between Beijing and Washington.
“Don’t worry about China. I mean, worry about China but don’t worry about China,” he said as the crowd laughed
