NNA – China hit back on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a quot;dictatorquot;, saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation, in an unexpected spat immediately following efforts by both sides to lower tensions.
Biden#39;s comments came just a day after top U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing tonbsp;stabilize bilateral relationsnbsp;that China says are at their lowest point since formal ties were established.
Attending a fundraiser in California, Biden said Xi was very embarrassed when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was blown off course over U.S. airspace early this year, making a personal comment on the Chinese leader when Blinken said on Monday the quot;chapterquot; should benbsp;closed.
quot;The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it was he didn#39;t know it was there,quot; Biden said.
quot;That#39;s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn#39;t know what happened. That wasn#39;t supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off course,quot; Biden added.
Xi became China#39;s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong after securing a precedent-breaking third term as president in March and head of the Communist Party in October.–Reutersnbsp;
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