Biden says China’s Xi doesn’t have a ‘democratic bone’ in his body

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on
Thursday said he had made it clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping
that the United States was not looking for confrontation, but would
insist that China play by international rules for fair competition
and fair trade.

Biden said he spent “hours upon hours” with Xi when he served as
vice president under former President Barack Obama, and was
convinced the Chinese leader believed that democracy doesn’t have a
future.

“He’s one of the guys, like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,
who thinks that autocracy is the wave of the future, (and)
democracy can’t function in an ever-complex world,” Biden told a
news conference at the White House.

“He doesn’t have a democratic – with a small ‘d’ – bone in his
body, but he’s a smart, smart guy,” he said.

The president said he had a different view of the future, one
that would require investing heavily in U.S. workers and science in
order to compete with China.

“We’re not looking for confrontation, although we know there
will be steep, steep competition,” Biden said. “We’ll insist that
China play by the international rules – fair competition, fair
practices, fair trade.”

Biden said the United States would work with allies to hold
China accountable for its actions on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South
China Sea and its treatment of the Uighur minority.

He said he spoke with Xi for two hours after taking office and
told him: “And as long as you and your country continue to so
blatantly violate human rights, we are going to continue in an
unrelenting way to call it to the attention of the world, and make
it clear, make it clear, what’s happening. And he understood
that.”

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on
Thursday said he had made it clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping
that the United States was not looking for confrontation, but would
insist that China play by international rules for fair competition
and fair trade.

Biden said he spent “hours upon hours” with Xi when he served as
vice president under former President Barack Obama, and was
convinced the Chinese leader believed that democracy doesn’t have a
future.

“He’s one of the guys, like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,
who thinks that autocracy is the wave of the future, (and)
democracy can’t function in an ever-complex world,” Biden told a
news conference at the White House.

“He doesn’t have a democratic – with a small ‘d’ – bone in his
body, but he’s a smart, smart guy,” he said.

The president said he had a different view of the future, one
that would require investing heavily in U.S. workers and science in
order to compete with China.

“We’re not looking for confrontation, although we know there
will be steep, steep competition,” Biden said. “We’ll insist that
China play by the international rules – fair competition, fair
practices, fair trade.”

Biden said the United States would work with allies to hold
China accountable for its actions on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South
China Sea and its treatment of the Uighur minority.

He said he spoke with Xi for two hours after taking office and
told him: “And as long as you and your country continue to so
blatantly violate human rights, we are going to continue in an
unrelenting way to call it to the attention of the world, and make
it clear, make it clear, what’s happening. And he understood
that.”