CNN: Biden says he still believes Xi Jinping is a dictator
Woodside, California CNN — US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he still believes Chinese President Xi Jinping is a dictator, even as the two leaders made progress in their relationship during a meeting outside San Francisco.
“Well, look, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours,” Biden told CNN’s MJ Lee. “Anyway, we made progress.”
When asked about Biden’s latest comment at a Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing on Thursday, a spokesperson called it “extremely erroneous” and an “irresponsible political maneuver, which China firmly opposes.”
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Update #1: Biden calls Xi a dictator after carefully planned summit -- Reuters
Update #2: Biden again calls Xi Jinping a 'dictator' as China vows to be 'unstoppable' in retaking Taiwan -- FOX News
WNU Editor: There was agreement on some issues.... Biden and Xi agree to curb illicit fentanyl and restart military communications—but remain miles apart of many critical issues (Fortune). But I would say this reaction from US Secretary of State Blinken accurately sums up how this meeting will be remembered for .... Video shows the moment Antony Blinken winces after Biden calls China's Xi a dictator, upending months of careful diplomacy (Business Insider).
Update #3: China has responded to US President Biden's remark that Chinese President Xi Jinping is a dictator .... China Decries Biden's Off-Script 'Dictator Xi' Comment As "Extremely Wrong" Political Maneuvering (Zero Hedge).
Update #4: Could not have said ti any better (see tweet below).
For all the screeching about Trump allegedly destroying diplomatic relationships, I don't recall him ever doing something so wildly boneheaded as blowing up a summit with China by calling President Xi a "dictator," while Xi was still physically present in the US attending events! pic.twitter.com/HXFv3QPay7
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 16, 2023