Joe Biden again refers to Xi Jinping as "a dictator"

Last June, the president of the United States spoke about the type of power his Chinese counterpart wielded. After his meeting with him, he has not changed his mind.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California, Nov. 15, 2023.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on strategic and overarching issues critical to the direction of China-U.S. relations and on major issues affecting world peace and development.
The meeting was held at Filoli Estate, a country house approximately 40 km south of San Francisco, California. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) (Photo by LI XUEREN / XINHUA / Xinhua via AFP) — (LI XUEREN / XINHUA / Xinhua via AFP)

Published by

Rosana Rábago Sainz

16 de noviembre, 2023

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Joe Biden once again referred to Xi Jinping as "a dictator." After meeting with the president of China in San Francisco, the American leader assured that his vision of the Chinese counterpart had not changed. He did so during a press conference in which he specified the reasons why he considered Xi Jinping to be a dictator:

Well, look, he is. He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that's based on a form of government totally different than ours.

The reaction of the Government of China did not take long to arrive. The spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, showed Beijing's "firm opposition" to Biden's words that she described as "extremely wrong": "This kind of speech is extremely wrong and is irresponsible political manipulation. China firmly opposes it," she said in statements reported by Reuters.

It is not the first time that Biden has referred to Xi Jinping as a dictator. The first time he addressed the president of China in this way was last June. He did so after the conflict that broke out in February when a Chinese spy balloon was found flying over the American sky:

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.

Xi Jinping willing to be "partner and friend" to US business leaders

The visit of the president of China to San Francisco included a meeting with the main American CEOs, among whom were Elon Musk and Tim Cook. In statements reported by CNN, Xi Jinping assured that he was willing to be a "partner and friend" of the United States:

If we regard each other as the biggest rival, the most significant geopolitical challenge and an ever-pressing threat, it will inevitably lead to wrong policies, wrong actions and wrong results. China is willing to be a partner and friend of the United States.

What's more, the Chinese president assured that his country did not wish the United States any harm. A sentiment that he revealed and hoped the US would also maintain towards China, so both countries could coexist perfectly:

China has never bet on the United States to lose, has never intervened in US internal affairs and does not intend to challenge or replace the US. China is happy to see a confident, open and prosperous US. And the United States should welcome a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.