'Ridiculously absurd': China responds after Biden labels Xi a dictator

China slammed the U.S. president for calling his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a dictator successful a imaginable setback with ties already fragile betwixt the 2 countries.

Joe Biden's comments astatine a Tuesday fundraiser comes conscionable a time aft Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his archetypal authoritative sojourn to Beijing. This underscores the tricky equilibrium of managing ties with an assertive planetary rival portion appealing to home audiences arsenic Biden seeks re-election.

Blinken's travel was aimed astatine mending ties betwixt the 2 planetary powers that person deed stone bottommost aft the U.S. successful February shot down what it described arsenic a surveillance balloon — a assertion China denies — disconnected the seashore of South Carolina.

"The crushed wherefore Xi Jinping got precise upset successful presumption of erstwhile I changeable that balloon down with 2 container cars afloat of spy instrumentality is helium didn't cognize it was there," Biden told a fundraiser successful Kentfield, California, successful enactment of his bid for a 2nd statesmanlike word astatine the 2024 elections.

"That was the large embarrassment for dictators, erstwhile they didn't cognize what happened. That wasn't expected to beryllium going wherever it was," helium added.

Biden's comments were "ridiculously absurd and irresponsible," said Mao Ning, a spokesperson astatine China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, astatine a regular property league successful Beijing Wednesday, according to a CNBC translation.

"It is simply a sedate disregard for basal facts, a superior breach of diplomatic protocol, a superior usurpation of China's governmental dignity and amounted to unfastened governmental provocation," she added. "China expresses beardown dissatisfaction and steadfast opposition."

Blinken postponed the Beijing trip, which was primitively scheduled for February, aft the stray balloon incident. His sojourn implicit the play marked a resumption of high-level U.S.-China authorities meetings aft a tense four-plus months.

While his ngo was mostly seen arsenic palmy successful getting the 2 planetary powers communicating again, Blinken was incapable to revive military-to-military talks with China.

"We're successful a concern present wherever helium wants to person a narration again," Biden said. "Antony Blinken conscionable went implicit determination ... did a bully occupation and it's going to instrumentality time," Biden said precocious Tuesday.