New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Thursday disagreed with US President Joe Biden’s remark that Chinese President Xi Jinping is a “dictator.”
“No, and the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people,” Hipkins told reporters when asked whether he agrees with Biden’s “dictator” remark.
His remarks were aired on state-run Radio New Zealand, which came just a few days ahead of his visit to China as he will depart for Beijing on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Biden referred to his Chinese counterpart Xi as a “dictator.”
Biden said Xi was embarrassed over recent tensions surrounding a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been blown off course over the US.
“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there. No, I’m serious. That was the great embarrassment for dictators when they didn’t know what happened,” he said.
Biden’s comment drew a swift response from Beijing.
“The remarks seriously contradict basic facts, seriously violate diplomatic etiquette, and seriously infringe on China’s political dignity,” Mao Ning, the spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Wednesday.
While international media closely covered Beijing’s response, the ministry, however, did not include the remarks in the transcript released following the daily news briefings. Chinese media also appeared to have remained muted over the issue.
* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
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