US President Joe Biden assured on Thursday in Washington that he plans to “meet” with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “soon”, something he has been saying for months.

His remarks came after the octogenarian Democrat labeled the Chinese president a “dictator” during a dinner he hosted for his party’s donors, sparking outrage in Beijing.

Asked yesterday about this characterization during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden replied that he would not be denied the right to “say what I think is the reality” regarding China.

“That’s not something I intend to change,” added the US president, who sometimes makes statements that take US diplomats by surprise.

Besides, Mr. Biden rejected “this theory” that “the relationship is headed for collapse.”

He once again praised the “great trip” made by the head of American diplomacy in Beijing. Anthony Blinken tried to turn the page on the February incident with the Chinese balloon that the US called a spy and sent a fighter jet to shoot it down at high altitude.

Mr. Biden addressed that episode at a dinner with fundraisers for his party in California on Tuesday.

He argued that “the reason why [ο κινέζος πρόεδρος] he was so upset when I shot down the balloon full of spy material that he didn’t know what [το αερόστατο] was there.”

“This puts the dictators in a very difficult position when they don’t know what has been done,” he added.

China reacted strongly, denouncing the “provocation”.

Yesterday Thursday, when asked by the press if he agreed with the US president’s statement about his Chinese counterpart, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who is expected to visit Beijing next week, answered “no”.

“China’s status is a matter for the Chinese people,” he added.

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are, on paper at least, going to cross paths twice in 2023.

They will participate in the G20 meeting in India in September and in that of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which this year the Americans will organize in San Francisco, in November.