Joe Biden likens Chinese President Xi to a dictator
United States President Joe Biden has likened his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to a dictator, just a day after his top diplomat Antony Blinken left Beijing following a visit designed to ease the two countries strained ties.
Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in northern California, President Biden said Xi Jinping had been angered over an incident in February when a Chinese balloon- which Washington says was used for spying - flew over the United States before it was eventually shot down.
'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 is he didn't know it was there. No, I’m serious. That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened,' Biden said.
On Feb. 4, an F-22 fighter jet downed the Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon on orders from Biden by firing a heat-seeking missile at it while it was floating off the coast of South Carolina.
'That wasn’t supposed to be going where it was,' said Biden, adding that 'when it got shot down, (Xi) was very embarrassed and he denied it was even there.'
His remarks came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded talks in Beijing with President Xi and other senior Chinese officials.
Relations between the United States and China deteriorated during the Trump administration over a trade war and have since remained tense due to Beijing's assertive claims over Taiwan and the alleged Chinese spy balloon over the US.
.png "Advertisement")
