It was during a meeting with donors to the Democratic Party in San Francisco that the dictator comment was made. The American president spoke about the relationship between China and the United States, which has not been of the bright kind in recent years. What literally eclipsed it even more was a Chinese spy balloon. The balloon sailed through American airspace for several days, clearly visible in the sky, before it was shot down off the east coast of the United States in February. – The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset when I shot down that balloon with two vans full of spy equipment was because he didn’t know it was there, Biden said in San Francisco. Then came the comment that provokes China: – It is a great embarrassment for dictators. When they don’t know what’s going on. It was not meant for it (the balloon ed. note) to be where it was. It was blown off course, the president said. President Joe Biden pictured after landing in San Francisco, on his way home from the election campaign event in Kentfield. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP Gut feeling and domestic political instinct Biden’s comment was intended to explain that it was not on Xi’s orders that the spy balloon was where it was. That it was an embarrassing mistake that was discovered, to the surprise of the Chinese president as well. Heidi Østbø Haugen is professor of China studies at the University of Oslo. She believes the comments from Biden had domestic political motives and were not a conscious strategy: – In the US, it is important domestic policy to show that you have a tough line towards China. Biden shows here that he puts hard against hard. It was probably a reflex reaction, something that fell out of him. – I would like to believe that it was the gut feeling and the domestic political instincts that kicked in, then you have to deal with the consequences, says Haugen. China expert Heidi Østbø Haugen says that China and the US are dependent on talking together, because they have many common interests. Photo: UIO Calls “dictator” provocation The reaction to the description of the dictator also came quickly from Beijing. – The comments from the US are extremely ridiculous and irresponsible. It is a serious attack on basic facts, diplomatic routines and China’s political dignity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said hours after Biden’s comment became known. Haugen explains why the dictator comment is so provocative. – In China they say that it is the will of the people that is expressed through the Communist Party. They will claim that there is a difference between being a dictator and not being elected democratically, says the professor. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was received by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: LEAH MILLIS / Reuters Bad timing The Chinese balloon came sailing in the American sky as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on his way to China. He was going on a follow-up visit after Xi Jinping and Joe Biden had met a few months before. The visit was postponed, and only carried out two days ago. Read news from Blinken’s visit to news’s Nyhetssenter: The visit is considered a success, both from the American and Chinese sides. – Interaction between states should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity, said Xi when he received Blinken. After the meeting, he used words like “progress” and “agreement”. – We are on the right track here, said Biden when the foreign minister was on his way home. And more visits were announced in the future: China’s foreign minister Qin Gang has been invited to the US, while the US’s special envoy for climate change, former foreign minister John Kerry, is planning a visit to China. Haugen therefore calls Biden’s comment bad timing: – It is bad timing. As Blinken’s state visit went so well, it could weaken the foundation that he was now able to build by finally getting the state visit completed, she says. Can weaken the relationship Heidi Østbø Haugen says that it is important that the countries have a good relationship, because they have many common interests, especially in trade. The professor believes that what has now happened could weaken the foundation that was laid during the China visit two days ago, and make it more difficult for Biden and Xi to meet face to face again. – This could undermine or weaken the foundation that Blinken was now able to build, she says.
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– It’s bad timing – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
