Washington Recent attempts at rapprochement between the US and China may already have failed. Because US President Joe Biden has equated China’s head of state Xi Jinping with a dictator – and thus insulted the Chinese government.
During an election campaign appearance in front of Democratic donors in the US state of California on Tuesday, Biden spoke about the so-called balloon affair. In February, the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon in American airspace. According to investigations by the US government, the spy balloon had deviated from its original course and was hovering over sensitive US military installations.
Xi was only outraged by the incident because the head of state was unclear about the location of the balloon at the time it was launched, Biden told his audience. The American President added: “It was always very embarrassing for dictators not to know what happened.”
Beijing reacted indignantly to Biden’s statement. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the comments “extremely absurd” and “irresponsible”.
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The US President has seriously violated the political dignity of the People’s Republic, the spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The dictator comparison is a “public political provocation”. They were outraged and categorically rejected the equation.
Russia gets involved
Antony Blinken became the first US Secretary of State to visit China in five years on Sunday and Monday. The politician had tried to repair the tense relations between the two countries at least somewhat. During his stay, Blinken had met Xi, among others, which was not originally intended.
Despite the differences, both politicians then signaled confidence in a better relationship. Even if China’s top diplomat Wang Yi had previously stated that relations were at a low point. Blinken’s trip was actually planned for February, but was postponed because of the balloon affair and various other conflicts between world powers.
The Russian leadership, which is seeking to close ranks with China in the course of its war in Ukraine, also commented on Biden’s statements. Biden’s dictator reference shows once again how “inconsistent, contradictory and unpredictable” American foreign policy is, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow. “We have our own bad relationship with the United States of America and our very good relationship with the People’s Republic of China.”
‘This is very embarrassing for dictators’ – Joe Biden angers China
Literally, Biden had said in California: “Don’t worry about China. So, you can worry, but at the same time you don’t have to worry. China is in real economic trouble. And the reason Xi Jinping was very upset is that when I shot down the balloon, he didn’t know where the balloon was. It’s always been very embarrassing for dictators when they don’t know what happened,” the President said.
During the performance, Biden admitted that he did not expect US-Chinese relations to recover quickly. The President said of Xi, “The most important thing is that he is now in a situation where he wants to have a relationship again.”
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken “did a good job” in Beijing, but “it will take time,” said the President. One goal of the Blinken trip was to prepare for a face-to-face meeting between Biden and Xi in the fall.
Biden sees strained relationship with Xi
Whether that will actually happen is an open question. According to Biden, the relationship with Xi is not the best. On the phone, Xi tried to dissuade him from founding the Quad, a strategic alliance between the US, India, Australia and Japan.
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The world is changing, stressed Biden – and not to China’s advantage. “As a kid from the Vietnam War era, I never would have guessed that Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos would seek a close relationship with the US.”
Strategic alignment in the South China Sea is a key point of contention between the US and China. Biden is trying to deepen his alliances with Chinese neighbors. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a guest at the White House this Thursday.
Biden recently launched his campaign for re-election in November 2024. He collects money for the election campaign at fundraising events. But the president’s public appearances are not without risk: the 80-year-old Democrat, who trained himself to stutter as a young man, occasionally confuses names and places.
He is notorious for his sometimes loose-mouthed mouth and for blunders in live speeches. During a recent performance, he said: “God save the Queen”. It was unclear what he was referring to
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