Beijing responds to Biden’s ‘problems’ claim

Every country has issues and the US will hopefully be able to deal with its own, a Chinese diplomat has said

US President Joe Biden would do better to focus on problems in his own country rather than claim others have issues to deal with, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning suggested on Wednesday.

She was responding to reports in Western media that Biden had criticized the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, claiming that the country has “real problems” with him at the helm. The pair are scheduled to hold talks this week on the sidelines of the US-hosted Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Speaking at a fundraiser on Tuesday, Biden said: “President Xi is another example of how reestablishing American leadership in the world is taking hold,” as quoted by AFP. He did not explain which problems he was referring to.

When asked about the report during a press briefing, Mao said China benefited from national unity under the leadership of the Communist Party. She added that hopefully the US can make serious progress in solving its own problems and make the lives of the American people better.

Mutual respect is “fundamental” for improving US-Chinese relations and both sides need to put effort into them, the diplomat added.

READ MORE: China not supplying Russia with weapons to fight Ukraine – White House

Both Xi and Biden arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday and are scheduled to have their meeting on Wednesday. The talks are intended to help the two nations deflate some bilateral tensions.

There are a number of issues currently straining the relationship, ranging from Beijing’s accusations that Washington is encouraging separatism on the self-administered Chinese island of Taiwan to the US ban on the sale of advanced semiconductors to China. There is also a fundamental disagreement over the nature of the Ukraine conflict.