Biden Refers To Xi Jinping as “Dictator” Following Summit

(RepublicanPress.org) – On November 15, President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in over a year. The highly organized meeting happened just before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Their talks were meant to iron out some differences and get the two countries back on a cooperative track. The meet seemed to go off without a hitch. However, Biden subsequently confirmed that Xi was a dictator — a moniker that upset China not too long ago.

On November 16, the New York Post shared a clip of the president answering questions after he met with Xi. A reporter asked Biden if he would still refer to the Chinese president as a dictator, referencing his words back in June. He answered that Xi was a dictator in the sense that he was someone who runs a communist country and a “form of government totally different” from the United States.

Hours after Joe Biden labeled China’s Xi Jinping a “dictator,” Beijing responded, describing the statement as “extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation.” Read more: https://t.co/Q2PzLaGYJk

— TIME (@TIME) November 16, 2023

The news source reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken recoiled at the president’s answer. That response was difficult to see in the video. Still, there was a significant reaction from others, including former Italian diplomat Marco Carnelos, who took to social media to comment on Blinken’s “desperate body language.” He indicated that Biden’s words ruined any progress they may have made during the meeting. An NBC News correspondent also reportedly commented, nearly echoing Carnelos’ sentiment.

Xi and Biden met for about four hours to discuss an array of issues, including recent tensions between the two countries, military matters, fentanyl, trade, and artificial intelligence. Biden said the meeting was “straightforward.” The pair seemed to come to agreements on several issues, including opening lines of military communications and the illegal drug trade.

It’s unclear if this will reverse any progress recently made between the US and China. However, on November 16, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning spoke to reporters during a press briefing, in which he referred to the comments as “extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation.”