Beijing — China on Wednesday called comments by U.S. President Joe Biden referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible,” as a new rift threatened to upset tentative efforts to stabilize the relationship between the two countries.
The clash of words comes just over a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. While both sides saw those talks as productive, they did not result in any significant breakthroughs beyond an agreement to return to a broad agenda for cooperation and competition.
Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night, said Xi was embarrassed over recent tensions surrounding a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the Air Force over the East Coast.
“That's a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn't know what happened,” Biden said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, responding to a question about Biden's remarks, said the comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China's political dignity.”
“It is a blatant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
“The U.S. remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said.
Mao reiterated China's contention…
