BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday called President Joe Biden’s comments describing Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”
The fresh spat of words comes just over a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing aimed at breaking the ice in a relationship that has hit an all-time low.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Biden’s comments at a fundraiser in California “are completely contrary to the facts and gravely violate diplomatic protocol and gravely infringe on China’s political dignity.”
“It is a flagrant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
“The US comments are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said.
Blinken’s visit, during which he met with Xi, was aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers, but appeared to have failed to achieve any solid results.
Biden, at the fundraiser Tuesday night local time, said Xi was embarrassed by the recent tensions surrounding an alleged Chinese spy balloon that had been shot down by the Air Force off the East Coast.
“This is a great shame for dictators. When they didn’t know what was going on,” Biden said.
Mao reiterated China’s claim that the balloon was intended for meteorological research and had been blown up accidentally.
“The United States should have handled this in a calm and professional manner,” he said. “However, the United States distorted the facts and used forces to exaggerate the incident, fully revealing its nature of harassment and hegemony.”
Blinken’s visit had originally been scheduled for February, but was called off after the balloon incident. Although it marked a return to high-level contacts between the sides, China continues to reject talks between its militaries.
In recent days, the US says Chinese warplanes and naval vessels have maneuvered threateningly towards their US counterparts in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, despite agreements between them on protocols to avoid these incidents.
During Blinken’s visit, China reiterated its strong objections to US support for the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. The United States has also sought to block Beijing’s access to cutting-edge computer chip-making technology that could be used for military purposes and accused China of stealing American intellectual property.
After meeting with Xi on Monday, Blinken acknowledged deep-rooted differences. “We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship. There are many issues on which we deeply, even vehemently, disagree,” he said.
