China reacted on Wednesday after President Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator, criticizing the comment as “extremely absurd and irresponsible”.
At a fundraiser in California on Tuesday night, Biden said Xi was embarrassed after the US Air Force shot down the Chinese spy balloon, “The reason Xi Jinping was so upset when I shot down this balloon with two wagons full of spies The equipment in it was that he didn’t know he was there It’s a great embarrassment to dictators when they didn’t know what happened.
“The American remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible. It is a blatant political provocation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning reacted on Wednesday during a daily briefing. “China expresses strong dissatisfaction and strong opposition.”
Mao said Biden’s comments at the fundraiser “completely run against the facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and seriously undermine China’s political dignity.”
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At the private campaign reception in Kentfield, Biden also emphasized cooperation with China and Xi, though he admitted, “It’s going to take time.”
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During the press conference, Mao reiterated China’s official position that the balloon was used for meteorological research before it accidentally veered off course.
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“The United States should have handled this calmly and professionally,” Mao said. “However, the United States distorted the facts and used force to hype the incident, fully exposing its intimidation and hegemonic nature.”
The swapped barbs come a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing, which included a meeting with Xi.
The diplomatic visit was intended to help ease tensions between the United States and China that have become strained amid disputes with Taiwan, the spy balloon and the discovery of a Chinese base in Cuba – marking a historic low in relations between the two world superpowers.
Blinken’s visit does not appear to have yielded material results.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.