US President Joe Biden at the White House June 1. Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
During a campaign event in California, President Joe Biden didn’t hold back when discussing the spy balloon incident that took place in February, taking a direct shot at Chinese President Xi Jinping. The incident involved the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon by U.S. military fighter jets.
What Happened: According to a White House pool report, Biden revealed, “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there.”
“That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said. “It was blown off course up through Alaska and then down through the United States and he didn’t know about it.”
China had previously criticized the shooting down of its flying objects, dismissing it as an “obvious overreaction.” They claimed the airship had entered U.S. airspace “due to force majeure.” In response to the initial incident, a second balloon was also shot down under President Biden’s orders.
Interestingly, these remarks come shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China, where he met with Xi. During the visit, Blinken and Xi discussed the need to stabilize the deteriorated U.S.-China ties. Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the “one China policy” and emphasized that the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence.
While acknowledging the significant differences between the two countries, Blinken stressed the importance of maintaining a substantial relationship based on common interests. “The United States is committed to doing that,” he said.
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Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Arnab Nandy
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