Washington:
The White House said Wednesday it had “every expectation” that the top US diplomat’s recent trip to Beijing will lead to better relations, even after Joe Biden likened the Chinese leader to embarrassed “dictators”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made “some progress” on a long-awaited trip to China, a senior government official said Wednesday.
“We have every expectation to build on that progress,” the official said.
Blinken’s visit, which concluded on Monday, was designed to restore lines of communication as tensions simmer between the two world powers over Taiwan and an incident involving a Chinese balloon in February, which Washington says was spying on the United States.
But China on Wednesday denounced Biden’s comments equating Chinese leader Xi Jinping with “dictators”.
Beijing called that statement, which Biden made at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday, “an open political provocation.”
The White House then tried to defuse tensions.
“It should come as no surprise that the president speaks candidly about China and the differences we have — we are certainly not alone in that,” the official said later on Wednesday.
“The president believes that diplomacy, including that of Minister Blinken, is the responsible way to manage tensions,” the official added.
Tuesday was not the first time Biden has made significant, even provocative, statements at fundraising receptions — usually small-scale events where cameras and recording are prohibited, but where journalists can listen to and transcribe the president’s opening words.
At one such event last October, Biden spoke of the threat of a nuclear “Armageddon” from Russia.
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