Antony Blinken appeared to let his frustrations get the better of him during a Joe Biden news conference as he seemed to wince and shake his head at a remark made by the US President.
Just moments after a significant meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden risked the wrath of his counterpart by branding him a “dictator”.
The personal view of the US Secretary of State was seemingly at odds with Biden’s position as he appeared to wince and shake his head.
Asked whether he feels whether Xi is a “dictator”, Biden stated: “He’s a dictator in the sense that he is the guy who runs the country that is a community country, based on a form government different than ours.”
Joe Biden has hit out at Xi Jinping
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Biden, 80, met with Xi for four hours in San Francisco ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference - the first time the two leaders had an in-person meeting in a year.
It is not the first time Biden has branded Xi a dictator, having done the same in June.
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The decision prompted a scathing response from the Chinese government.
The US and China have been looking to rebuild relations after ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
The alleged Chinese spy balloon in February also only served to further compound fissures in the relationship.
Biden spoke in more glowing terms about Xi on Wednesday, telling reporters that the Chinese president agreed to curtail the export of pill presses and deadly fentanyl-related compounds.
Xi used the summit to issue a chilling warning to Biden, telling him that the US “turning their back” on China is “not an option”.
Biden’s news conference was held alone without Xi at the Filoli estate outside San Francisco.
China’s foreign ministry were quick to respond, saying it “strongly opposes” the view expressed by Biden.
“The statement is extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation”, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
“It should be pointed out that there will always be some people with ulterior motives who attempted to incite and damage US-China relations, they are doomed to fail.”
Last March Xi secured a third term as president when nearly 3,000 members of the National People’s Progress voted unanimously for him in an election in which there was no other candidate.