Biden Calls Xi Jinping a Dictator

US President Joe Biden referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "dictator" during a political fundraiser in California on Tuesday evening, just one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that his recent visit had made "progress" in restoring relations between Washington and Beijing, CNN reports.

"The reason Xi Jinping was so upset when I took down that balloon, which had two boxes full of spying equipment, is that he didn’t know they were there. I’m not joking. It’s a huge shame for dictators when they don’t know what’s going on," Biden told fundraiser attendees, referring to the Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down earlier this year.