Joe Biden, set to host PM Modi, called China’s Xi Jinping a ‘coward’ World news

President Joe Biden’s remarks calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “totalitarian” and China a country with “real economic problems” drew swift condemnation from China on Wednesday, revealing a new controversy. after both countries agreed to concrete steps to stabilize the relationship. (CLICK HERE FOR PM Modi US VISIT LIVE UPDATES)

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning dismissed the comments that he referred to Biden as “extremely unfair and irresponsible.”

The spat of words came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a visit to Beijing on Monday seeking to break the ice in a relationship that hit a low profile.

While both sides found those talks to be fruitful, they did not lead to any major breakthroughs beyond an agreement to return to a larger agenda for cooperation and competition.

China’s swift response to Biden, a president known for seemingly scripted comments that run across his administration’s policies, raises questions about whether his comments will reverse the limited progress he has made on steel. -Blinken’s science tour or maybe both parties will continue.

Biden’s China attitude comes as the campaign for next year’s election is already underway, with Republicans accusing him of being weak on China.

Biden is also preparing to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington on Wednesday evening for a lavish state visit where a central topic will be China’s shared vigilance.

Biden, at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday night, referred back to January and February’s two-week eclipse of what the US said was a Chinese spy balloon. The balloon’s dramatic appearance over US skies stirred tensions and changed the American public.

Speaking to wealthy donors at the event for his 2024 re-election campaign, Biden portrayed Xi as out of touch and embarrassed by the event, which ended with the Air Force shooting down a balloon in the West End.

“The reason Xi Jinping was so angry in terms of when I shot that balloon with two boxcars full of spy equipment is that he didn’t know it was there,” Biden told the crowd.

“No, I’m serious,” he added. “That’s a big shame for the attackers, when they don’t know what happened.”

Biden also drew trade competition from China, which is the world’s second-largest economy after the United States but has struggled to emerge from the COVID-19 financial crisis.

“By the way, I promise you, don’t worry about China. Be upset about China but don’t worry about China,” Biden said. “I really mean it. China has real economic problems. “

Biden’s comments came hours after his secretary of state, in an interview with MSNBC, called for both countries to put the balloon incident on them, saying it was a chapter that “should be closed.”

In Beijing on Wednesday, Mao told reporters that Biden’s remarks “go against the facts and against the diplomatic process, and violate the dignity of Chinese politics.”

“It’s a legitimate political provocation,” Mao said.

Mao also repeated the Chinese version of the balloon incident, saying that the balloon was for weather research and had accidentally blown off the runway.

The White House on Wednesday signaled that Biden has no intention of walking back his comments. A senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it should come as “no surprise” that Biden “spoke honestly about China and the differences we have.”

The official added that US officials, including Biden, are “not alone” in speaking publicly about differences in public and private communication between the two countries’ leaders.

The official added that Blinken had a good trip, progress has been made, and the administration hopes to build on that progress.

US-China tensions have been elevated for years as the fight grows over trade and global influence. Tensions have been exacerbated by repeated tensions, including over ballooning, US tariffs, sanctions on China, and self-governing Taiwan.

The US is pressing China to allow direct communications between Biden, Xi and other US military and civilian leaders, as a channel to prevent crises and prevent incidents from escalating into open attacks.

Despite the administration’s efforts to soothe relations, analysts point to Republican political pressure, and Biden’s remarks often seem to go off script to criticize Xi.

Bonnie Glaser, Asia director of the George Marshall Fund of the United States, pointed on Wednesday to Biden’s state of the Union address in February, shortly after the balloon flight, as Republican lawmakers in the audience challenged him on China and other issues. Waving a finger in the air, Biden shouted, “Name me the world leader who will turn things around with Xi Jinping! Name me one! Name me one!”

For Biden, “he is under a lot of criticism from the right. He doesn’t want to be seen as soft on China. He views Xi Jinping as a dictator,” Glaser said.

“And it’s not very good … distinguishing what you should say in public and what you should say in private,” Glaser said. “And the relationship paid off for him. There’s no doubt about it.”

Perhaps Xi was angered by the claim that he had not been fully informed about the balloon incident, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a long-time observer of Chinese politics.

“My sense is that Xi may not want to get angry and put the relationship back on the ice again,” Tsang said in an email.

The first Republican response to Biden’s remarks was approval. “It’s a fitting description of their government,” Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.

While Xi leads a country called the People’s Republic of China, he faces no limits on his terms as head of state, military commander and leader of the ruling Communist Party, which poses no challenges. to your command.

In California, Biden has told aides that Xi “wants to have a relationship again.”

Blinken “goes out there … does a good job, and it’s going to take time,” he said.