Overview

• President Biden reaffirmed his view of Chinese President Xi Jinping as a 'dictator' during a press conference, causing a visible reaction from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
• Biden's comments have stirred controversy amidst increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
• Despite the contentious label, Biden recognized the progress made in recent talks with Xi Jinping, emphasizing the necessity of 'just being blunt with one another'.
• A spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry condemned Biden’s comments as 'extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation'.
• These remarks followed Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with Xi in nearly a year at the APEC Summit in San Francisco.