(RepublicanDaily.org) – U.S. President Joe Biden called the Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” in at a recent fundraiser in California. The president stated that Xi was “embarrassed” due to the Chinese surveillance balloon that was detected over Billings, Montana earlier this year. The surveillance craft had reportedly departed from Hainan Island, China, and floated over the Continental United States, before U.S. Armed Services members shot it down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Biden told the audience that Xi had gotten “very upset” with him for shooting down the spy balloon which, the president stated, had roughly “two box cars” of spy equipment in it. Biden stated that the reason for Xi’s upset was that he did not know the balloon was even in U.S. airspace, and his lack of knowledge was generally a great embarrassment “for dictators.”
The president referred to the incident after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the chapter of U.S.-China relations that had been opened by the incident should be “closed.”
The Chinese responded saying the Communist Party found the U.S. President’s remarks “ridiculous” and “irresponsible.” Reportedly, the Chinese regime sees the comments as a provocation. Media commentators speculated about the reaction, with many saying it was too early to determine how bad the fallout from the comments would be.
The president’s comments came one day after Blinken made a state visit to China in an attempt to mend the fraying relationship. China has since lashed out at Biden for his comments about the Chinese regime leader.
In recent months, the United States and Chinese relations have reached their highest tensions since 1979 media analysts explained. In 1979, former President Jimmy Carter signed both the one-China policy and a Taiwan sovereignty defense bill. The State Department confirmed that a “number” of disagreements had happened between U.S. and Chinese leadership in this era, the Office of the Historian explained.
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