“High-ranking US officials are caught off guard by Biden calling Xi a ‘dictator’: US officials are struggling to justify themselves to China for their president’s words.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement that he ranked Chinese President Xi Jinping as a dictator has taken U.S. officials by surprise. This was reported by NBC television on Wednesday, citing sources.
According to the broadcaster, senior US officials said they were caught off guard when Biden described Xi Jinping as a “dictator” just 24 hours after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken “visited Beijing and appeared to have made progress on tense relations between the two countries”.
US officials said in private conversations with Chinese representatives that Biden’s words did not signify a change in US administration policy. As NBC notes, US officials believe Biden’s statement is unlikely to result in a loss of progress made by the US secretary of state.
Biden called Xi Jinping a “dictator” on 20 June. Meanwhile, commenting on Blinken’s June 19 visit to Beijing on June 18-19, the US president said that relations between the United States and China were “on the right track”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a briefing on June 21 that China protested over the US President’s recent remarks about Xi Jinping. She said the American president’s remarks were irresponsible, contrary to diplomatic etiquette and an outright provocation.
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