After Joe Biden referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator,” China’s foreign ministry accused the US president of “political provocation.”
Speaking on behalf of the foreign ministry, Mao Ning claimed that the remarks “seriously violated China’s political dignity”.
A day after meeting Xi on a visit to China intended to reduce tensions between the two nations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comments, Biden. He said that earlier this year, when a Chinese balloon was blown off course over the US, Xi felt ashamed.
“Xi Jinping didn’t know it was there, which is why he got very upset when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy gear in it,” Biden stated at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday.
“That causes dictators a lot of shame. while they were unaware of what had transpired. That wasn’t intended to proceed in the direction it did. The ship was blown off course, said Biden.
In February, a rumored Chinese surveillance balloon crossed US airspace. Tensions between the US and China have lately increased as a result of that event and visits by US and Taiwanese officials.
China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, Xi clinched a record-breaking third term as president in March.
Blinken and Xi exchange kind words, but they stand their ground.
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Additionally, Biden said that China “has real economic difficulties”.
May saw a downturn in China’s economy as both industrial production and retail sales growth fell short of expectations. This raised concerns that Beijing would need to do more to support the wobbly post-pandemic recovery.
The US is anticipated to expand by 1.1% in 2023, up from the 0.5% projection made by the World Bank earlier in the month. China is expected to grow by 5.6%, up from the 4.3% forecast made in January.
During a rare visit to China by the secretary of state, Blinken and Xi resolved to stabilize the fierce rivalry between Washington and Beijing so that it would not turn into a fight during their meeting on Monday.
They did decide to keep up the diplomatic exchanges by inviting other US officials to come in the next weeks and months. John Kerry, the US representative on climate change, may visit China shortly, Biden said later on Tuesday.
On Monday, Biden said that he believed the two nations’ ties were headed in the right direction and that Blinken’s visit had resulted in progress.
On Tuesday, Biden said that the so-called Quad strategic security group, which consists of Japan, Australia, India, and the US, had caused Xi some anxiety. The US president said that he had already assured Xi that his country was not using the Quad to surround China.
He warned me not to do it over the phone because it would put him in a difficult situation, Biden added.
Biden will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week, and it is anticipated that the two leaders would address China during their meeting.
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