During a fundraiser in California, President Biden made a striking remark, referring to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a dictator. This commentary comes hot on the heels of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Xi. The meeting aimed at dialing down the existing hostilities between the U.S. and China.
President Biden disclosed how Xi’s anger surged when a suspected Chinese spy balloon, stuffed with spying gear, was intercepted and brought down. Biden’s statement implied that Xi’s unawareness of the balloon’s existence was a substantial embarrassment, typically for dictators.
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This incident of the spy balloon, which took place in February and the subsequent increase in official visits between the U.S. and Taiwan, has amplified the U.S.-China discord. Despite this, the recent meeting between Blinken and Xi ended on a somewhat positive note. Both parties agreed to keep their intense rivalry in check to prevent it from escalating into conflict. However, the meeting did not yield any significant breakthroughs.
On a brighter note, they agreed to maintain diplomatic engagement, with promises of more visits by U.S. officials in the forthcoming weeks and months. Biden echoed this sentiment, stating that he believes U.S.-China relations are moving in the right direction. He indicated that some progress was made during Blinken’s trip.
Biden also acknowledged Xi’s apprehensions about the Quad strategic security group, comprising Japan, Australia, India, and the U.S. The U.S. President reassured that the Quad was not established to isolate China.
In the following week, a meeting between Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled, where the topic of China is expected to be on the table.
This news piece is based on an article from Malay Mail.
