The president of the United States, Joe Biden, described Xi Jinping as a dictator on Tuesday night, a day after the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, finished his visit to Beijing to channel bilateral relations that, according to China , are at their lowest point since both countries established formal relations. Biden also said that Xi felt “very embarrassed” when an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over US airspace earlier this year, because the Chinese president was “unaware” of the presence of the device, which was shot down on February 4 in US airspace. . On Monday, Blinken had stated in the Chinese capital that the “chapter” of the spy balloon had to be closed.
“The reason why Xi Jinping got very angry when I brought down the balloon with two boxes full of spyware is because he didn’t know it was there,” Biden told a party fundraiser at a private residence in New York. Kentfield (California). “When they don’t know what’s going on, that’s a great shame for dictators. that was not supposed to [el globo espía] it ended up where it was. She was blown off course through Alaska and then across the United States. And he didn’t know it. When he was shot down, he was very embarrassed. He denied that he was there, ”added the American leader, who had started this part of his speech by noting that China“ is experiencing real economic difficulties ”.
Biden’s words have not gone down well in Beijing. The spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, has described them as “extremely absurd and irresponsible” during a routine appearance, according to the Chinese press. Mao has assured that the “rights and wrongs” of the aerostatic incident “are clear”, that it was a matter of “force majeure”, and has reiterated Beijing’s official line that Washington should have handled the matter “calmly” and without “exaggeration”. The spokeswoman added that these comments do not reflect reality, “they violate China’s political dignity and are an open political provocation.”
“Mutual respect”
A day after Blinken left Beijing feeling an entente between China and the US, not many were getting their hopes up for China. On Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency published a long opinion piece entitled “I hope Blinken brings three pieces of advice to President Biden”, in which he asked the Secretary of State to bring several ideas for the White House occupant upon his return to Washington. . One of those recommendations was: “Don’t say one thing and do the opposite, China is not buying this.” Another: “Mutual respect is a prerequisite.”
Biden’s statements came as a surprise as they came just after Blinken’s trip, in which the head of US diplomacy and the Chinese leader had expressed the need to keep communication between Washington and Beijing open so that the intense rivalry does not end in a conflict, although the visit of the Secretary of State did not bear any concrete result.
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Both countries did agree to continue their diplomatic engagement with further visits by US officials in the coming weeks and months and the invitation to Washington by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. This Tuesday, Biden had also declared that the US envoy for climate, John Kerry, could soon travel to China. The day before, the US president had said that relations between the two countries were on the right track and that Blinken’s trip had ended with “some progress” and the purpose of shelving the matter of the alleged Chinese spy balloon, which has an uncanny ability to inflate and deflate, even months after being shot down by the United States.
Biden himself, after calling Xi a dictator, seemed willing to improve relations: “The very important point is that he is now in a situation where he wants to have a relationship again. Tony Blinken just went there, our Secretary of State has done a good job. And he is going to take time, ”he said at the fundraising event.
Also this Tuesday, Biden assured that the Chinese president had expressed concern about the so-called Quad strategic security group, which includes Japan, Australia, India and the United States. The president specified that he had previously assured Xi that his country was not trying to encircle China with such an alliance.
“He called me and told me not to do it. [cercar a China con ese acuerdo a cuatro bandas] because I was putting him in a bind,” Biden said. Later this week, the US president is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and China is expected to be high on the agenda between the two leaders.
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