US President Joe Biden greets Chinese leader Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting in Woodside, California on Wednesday.
Published November 16, 2023
Chinese leader Xi Jinping presented an amicable China ready to improve ties with the United States in a landmark meeting with US President Joe Biden Wednesday, marking a noticeable shift in tone for Beijing as it looks to minimize friction with Washington.
Whether that shift is a lasting one for the contentious relationship will be put to an immediate test, however, by comments made by Biden during a solo press conference after the meeting. There, the President reiterated his view that Xi is a “dictator,” after being asked by a reporter whether he stood by a comment saying as much this past June.
At that point, Beijing reacted with vitriol, with the remark seen as casting a shadow over tentative progress in advancing dialogue between the two sides following a visit from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
When asked about Biden’s latest comment at a Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing on Thursday, a spokesperson called it “extremely erroneous” and an “irresponsible political maneuver, which China firmly opposes.”
“What needs to be pointed out is that there will always be some people with ulterior motives attempting to undermine China-US relations. They will not succeed in doing so,” spokesperson Mao Ning said.
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SOURCE: www.edition.cnn.com
RELATED: Biden stands by comment that Xi is a ‘dictator’ hours after their first meeting in a year
WOODSIDE, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 15: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a news conference at the Filoli Estate on November 15, 2023 in Woodside, California.
The news conference follows a meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ week, their first since meeting at the Indonesian island resort of Bali in November 2022. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)/ Kent Nishimura | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Published November 16, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden again called his Chinese counterpart a dictator — a move that could potentially unravel the progress made between the world’s two leading powers.
Shortly after his first meeting with China President Xi Jinping in a year, Biden responded to a question on whether he stood by his June comment labeling Xi a dictator.
“Well, look, he is,” Biden said Wednesday after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.
“He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours.”
At its regular daily press conference in Beijing Thursday, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed Biden’s comment as “extremely incorrect and irresponsible political manipulation.”
“There are always some careless individuals attempting to sow discord and damage China-U.S. relations, but their attempts will not succeed,” said Mao Ning, the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson.
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SOURCE: www.cnbc.com
RELATED: Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agree to resume high-level military communication
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China’s President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met at the Filoli estate in Woodside, California, on Wednesday © Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Published November 16, 2023
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to resume military communications at a summit designed to stabilise relations after several years of rising concern about a possible conflict over Taiwan.
At a press conference following his meeting with Xi outside San Francisco on Wednesday, Biden said the countries had reached a series of agreements, including a commitment from China to reopen military communication channels that it had shut after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
“We’re back to direct, open, clear . . . communication,” said Biden, adding that it marked “important progress” in US-China relations, which had descended to their lowest point since the countries established ties in 1979.
The two sides also agreed to set up a counter-narcotics working group. Beijing has said it will curb the export of chemicals used to make fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has sparked a deadly drug epidemic in the US.
The leaders held roughly four hours of talks on Wednesday that included lunch in their second in-person summit since Biden took office in 2021. Asked by reporters how the talks went, Biden responded “well”, giving a thumbs-up gesture.
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SOURCE: www.ft.com
