After meeting with Xi Jinping in San Francisco, the US president insisted on calling him a “dictator.”
Joe Biden’s portrayal of Xi Jinping as a “dictator” has been deemed incorrect and careless by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
However, hours after visiting his Chinese counterpart in San Francisco on Wednesday, the US president reiterated the depiction.
Following the discussions, Biden was questioned alone in a press conference on whether he would continue to refer to Xi as a “dictator,” as he had done in June.
Yes, he is. “He is a dictator in the sense that he is a man in charge of a communist nation that operates under a completely different system of governance than our own,” he shot back.
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Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded to questions on Biden’s remarks made during a press briefing on Thursday by calling them “absolutely wrong” and stating Beijing was against this “irresponsible political manipulation.” Attempts to “sow discord between the two nations” were denounced by her.
The US president allegedly questioned Xi’s leadership at a fundraiser prior to the summit. According to media sources, Biden asserted that China has “real problems” under Xi and described it as “another example of how reestablishing American leadership in the world is taking hold.”
In response to the statement on Wednesday, Mao emphasised that developing bilateral relations required mutual respect, calling it “fundamental.” She acknowledged that every country had issues and expressed optimism that the US could resolve its own and enhance the lives of its citizens.
The Biden administration’s foreign policy is based on the idea that there is a global struggle between “autocracies” and “democracies,” with the latter group consisting of countries like China and Russia that reject US influence.
Biden organised the second “Summit of Democracy,” which took place in March. Considered a slight to Beijing, the self-governing Chinese island of Taiwan was invited as a guest.
