China’s government reacted to President Joe Biden’s speeches about Chinese leader Xi Jinping and called them “completely irresponsible”. This Wednesday (8), in an interview with the PBS NewsHour program, Biden said that Xi faces “enormous problems” in the country.
“Can you think of any other world leaders who would trade places with Xi Jinping? It’s not a joke. I can’t think of any,” said the US president. “This man has huge problems. He also has a lot of potential, but so far his economy is not working very well.”
Once a power capable of boosting Western countries in the midst of financial crises like the one in 2008, today China envisions an uncertain economic future. In 2022, China’s economy grew by 3%, one of its worst results in nearly 50 years. The data has increased pressure on authorities to adopt more stimulus this year. The Asian giant’s business has suffered from the Covid-zero policy for three years and has now had a new impact with the sudden change in the isolation regime, which has begun to become more flexible.
The new friction between the two powers comes after the US Army shot down a Chinese balloon that was flying over the United States last Saturday (4). Washington says the artifact was a spying device — a hypothesis denied by Beijing.
“These words by the United States are totally irresponsible and violate the basic rules of diplomatic etiquette,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference on Thursday. “China expresses its deep discontent and firm rejection.”
Questioned about the function of the balloon, Mao Ning reiterated that it was a civilian device. “More likely these statements are part of a war of opinion against China,” she said. “The international community knows very well who is the world champion in espionage and surveillance,” she added, referring to the US.
Beijing has said that the artifact got off course due to wind currents and was used for research, mainly meteorological.
China also confirmed on Thursday that it had turned down a call from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He wanted to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, after the balloon was shot down. The Chinese Ministry of Defense justified the decision by saying that the measure was irresponsible and did not create a climate “conducive to dialogue”.
The discovery of the balloon increased tensions between the two countries. The announcement prompted the US government to postpone the visit that the head of US diplomacy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, would make to Beijing. He was due to meet Xi in a bid to make headway in easing tensions between the world’s two biggest powers.
Internally, the matter also had consequences. Republican lawmakers criticized Biden for what they say was slow to order the downing of the balloon. The delay, justifies the spokesman for the American National Security Council, John Kirby, was necessary to examine the object – the wreckage should reveal more information, according to him.
Joe Biden often describes the relationship between the United States and China as the most important in the world. The two leaders met in November last year, during the summit of G20 countries in Bali. It was the first meeting since Biden took office in 2021. Since then, they have talked by phone or video call on five occasions.
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