President Joe Biden referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator” during a Tuesday fundraiser in California.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had just returned from a trip to Beijing to try to ease tensions between the United States and China when these remarks were made.
Biden also said that Xi was humiliated when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was blown off course over U.S. airspace earlier this year, whereas Blinken stated on Monday that the “chapter” should be closed.
The motivation for Biden’s criticism of Xi was not made clear. After winning a record-breaking third term as president and head of the Communist Party, he is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Xi did not issue a public response to Biden’s remarks after meeting with Blinken on Monday. But with these remarks, it is uncertain how the efforts to stabilize the relationship between the two countries will manifest.
