Russia says Biden calling Xi a ‘dictator’ shows US is erratic

Russia said on Wednesday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s reference to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a dictator showed U.S. foreign policy was inconsistent and erratic.
At a fundraiser in California on Tuesday, Biden discussed a a Chinese spy balloon the United States shot down earlier this year, saying Xi had become upset because he hadn’t known its location, “a great embarrassment for dictators”.
The Kremlin was quick to seize on Biden’s remark as a chance to criticise Washington, while underlining its own close ties to Beijing.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there was a contradiction between Biden’s comment and the efforts of his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to lower tensions with Beijing at a meeting with Xi earlier this week.