China lashes back as Biden labels Xi a 'dictator'
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[June 21, 2023]
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Ryan Woo
KENTFIELD, California/BEIJING (Reuters) -China hit back on Wednesday
after U.S. President Joe Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a
"dictator", saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation, in an
unexpected spat immediately following efforts by both sides to lower
tensions.
Biden's comments came just a day after top U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken visited Beijing to stabilize bilateral relations that
China says are at their lowest point since formal ties were established.
Attending a fundraiser in California, Biden said Xi was very embarrassed
when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was blown off course over U.S.
airspace early this year, making a personal comment on the Chinese
leader when Blinken said on Monday the "chapter" should be closed.
"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.
"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.
Xi became China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong after securing a
precedent-breaking third term as president in March and head of the
Communist Party in October.
Biden also said China "has real economic difficulties."
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Biden's remarks were
"extremely absurd" and "irresponsible".
Expressing China's strong dissatisfaction, foreign ministry spokesperson
Mao Ning said Biden's comments seriously violated facts, diplomatic
protocol and China's political dignity.
"They're an open political provocation," she told a news conference.
Asked how aware Xi had been about the balloon's movements, Mao
reiterated China's previous explanation that the passage of the balloon
through U.S. airspace had been unintended and caused by circumstances
beyond its control.
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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about
his administration's commitment to seizing the opportunities and
managing the risks of Artificial Intelligence, in San Francisco,
California, U.S., June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
'BIG MOUTH'
"Biden's big mouth is a loose cannon," said Wu Xinbo, director of
the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.
"Mutual trust is what China has been stressing, so Biden's comments
are very destructive and damaging," Wu said, while adding that the
remarks may not totally undo what Blinken had achieved on his China
visit.
Blinken and Xi agreed in their meeting on Monday to stabilize the
intense rivalry between Washington and Beijing so it did not veer
into conflict.
While no breakthroughs were made during the first visit to China by
a U.S. secretary of state for five years, both sides did agree to
continue diplomatic engagement with more visits by U.S. officials in
the coming weeks and months.
Biden said later on Tuesday that U.S. climate envoy John Kerry may
go to China soon.
A day earlier, on Monday, Biden said he thought relations between
the two countries were on the right path, and he indicated that
progress was made during Blinken's trip.
Chiming in from Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Biden's
comments contradicted the efforts of his secretary of state to ease
tensions with Beijing, describing the remarks as "incomprehensible".
"These are very contradictory manifestations of U.S. foreign policy,
which speak of a large element of unpredictability," Peskov told
reporters on Wednesday.
"However, that's their business," Peskov said. "We've our own bad
relations with the United States of America and our very good
relations with the People's Republic of China."
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; additional reporting by Ryan Woo,
Ethan Wang and Albee Zhang in Beijing; Writing by Kanishka Singh;
Editing by Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)
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