The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was caught on camera during the press meet this week where President Joe Biden once again described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator.”
What Happened: President Biden reaffirmed his view of Xi as a “dictator” during a press conference in California on Wednesday after committing to “positive steps’ between the two governments.
"Look, he is," Biden said.
"He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that is based on a form of government totally different than ours."
Blinken’s reaction to Biden’s comments caught the attention of social media, stirring up controversy amidst increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
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Why It Matters: This isn’t the first time President Biden has used the term “dictator” to describe Xi. Earlier this year, Blinken had supported Biden’s description of the Chinese leader, asserting that Biden “speaks for all of us.”
Despite the somewhat contentious label, Biden recognized the progress made in recent talks with Xi Jinping. He emphasized the necessity of “just being blunt with one another” for global stability and for the benefit of the American public.
A spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry condemned Biden’s comments as “extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation,” according to a report by Reuters. These remarks followed Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with Xi in nearly a year at the APEC Summit in San Francisco.
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