At a time when the US and China are trying to figure out a claim to defuse tensions between the two countries, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called his Chinese counterpart a “dictator”. “The reason why Xi Jinping got so upset when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment was he didn’t know it was there,” the BBC quoted Biden as saying. “It’s a great shame for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened,” he said.
Notably, Biden’s critical remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping as he began a two-day visit on Monday. The two agreed on a number of issues but the points relating to tensions between the two armies, trade relations and the Russia-Ukraine war remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, reacting to Biden’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning termed it as ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible’. “This is “an open political provocation” that violates diplomatic etiquette,” she told a news conference.
Blinken’s meeting with Xi yields no results
Meanwhile, Blinken, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday and held a series of meetings on a range of important issues, later held a much-anticipated meeting with President Xi Jinping. The crucial meeting took place hours before his departure from a land that the US administration continues to claim grave human rights violations. The top US diplomat, who was the first to visit Beijing in the past five years, reiterated that the Pentagon has always advocated maintaining a nourishing relationship between the two countries and said such a setting would be beneficial for the planet.
“President Biden sent me to Beijing because he believes it is the obligation and responsibility of the United States and China to manage our relationship. The United States is committed to doing so. It is in the interests of the United States, China is in the interests of.” And in the interest of the world.”
What does Xi Jinping say
In a response, Xi said, “The two sides have agreed to abide by the consensus reached between President Biden and me in Bali.”
In addition, the Chinese leader claimed that the two sides have made progress and reached agreement on “some specific issues”, but did not elaborate. “That’s great,” the president insisted.