Tensions between the US and China: Biden calls Xi a dictator a day after the talks in Beijing
US President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraiser in California.
His comments come a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Xi for talks in Beijing aimed at defusing tensions between the two superpowers.
Mr Xi said some progress had been made in Beijing, while Mr Blinken indicated both sides were open to further talks.
China has yet to respond to Mr Biden's comments:
President Biden also said at the fundraiser Tuesday night local time that Mr Xi was embarrassed by recent tensions surrounding a Chinese spy balloon that went off course over the United States.
"The reason Xi Jinping was very upset when I shot down the balloon with two wagons full of spy gear was because he didn't know he was there," Biden said.
“This is a great embarrassment for dictators. If they didn't know what happened."
Mr Blinken's visit to Beijing - the first by a senior US diplomat in nearly five years - reignited high-level communications between the two countries. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi hailed this as a welcome development. However, Mr Blinken made it clear that major differences remain between the two countries.
Washington and Beijing have long been at odds over a range of issues, including trade, human rights and Taiwan.
But especially in the past
year, relations have deteriorated. With the U.S. election looming and tensions
rising with China as a political issue, some Republican senators have attacked
the Biden administration for its "indulgence" on China.
