Global Courant
President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” during a fundraiser in California on Tuesday.
The comment was shared as Biden said Xi was embarrassed by the spy balloon incident that sparked major diplomatic tension between Beijing and Washington.
The comments came a day after Foreign Minister Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing in an effort to calm tensions between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies. Blinken told NBC News after his visit that the spy balloon “needs to close chapter.”
However, Biden returned to the subject again before a room with more than 125 people in attendance, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who also spoke at the fundraiser.
“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset when I shot down that balloon with two wagonloads of spy equipment is that he didn’t know he was there,” Biden said.
“That’s a great shame for dictators,” he added, “if they didn’t know what was happening.”
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden said the Chinese balloon was blown off course without Xi’s knowledge, adding “when he was shot down, he (Xi) was very embarrassed and denied even being there.” He did not back down on the comments on a second fundraiser later on Tuesday.
Biden was referring to a Chinese spy balloon that floated across the United States in February. The balloon, which China said was an unmanned civilian airship conducting meteorological research, was shot down by the Air Force off the coast of South Carolina after hovering over sensitive US military installations. The incident became an intense point of diplomatic conflict between Beijing and Washington.
While Blinken’s visit was considered relatively successful — Biden said at the fundraiser that his secretary of state was doing a “nice job” — China and the U.S. have failed to restore several military communication channels that were cut after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, a self-governing island off the coast of China that Beijing claims as its own territory. There were no breakthroughs in the meeting, except for an agreement that the two sides needed to stabilize the relationship.
The two countries have had tense military brushes in recent weeks in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, which some have found particularly concerning. China said it was defending its national sovereignty in the two most recent cases. The US called Beijing’s actions dangerous and stressed that US military personnel were operating in international airspace and waters.
Blinken’s visit was the first visit by a state secretary since 2018. He had postponed a planned trip in February after the Chinese spy balloon debacle. Biden said last month that his plan with Xi to have continued dialogue was derailed by “this silly balloon.”
During Tuesday night’s first fundraiser, Biden said Xi was more concerned about the strategic security group Quad, which consists of the US, Australia, Japan and India. The group has spoken openly about acting as a buffer for Chinese interests, but Biden said he assured Xi that China had nothing to worry about.
Biden also told the crowd not to worry about the recent friction between Beijing and Washington.
“Don’t worry about China. I mean, worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” he said as the crowd laughed.
Janis Mackey Frayer and Jennifer Jett contributed.
