A White House official has explained that US President Joe Biden’s remark about China being a “ticking time bomb” was in reference to domestic economic and social problems that may affect how Beijing engages with the outside world.
US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia in 2022 [Source: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
Biden Criticizes China’s Economy
At a political fundraiser last week, Biden claimed that China was “in trouble” and rife with social and economic issues. Biden stated that it is not good because when terrible people have issues, they do awful things. “China is a ticking time bomb,” Pres Biden declared. He added in his statement in order to maintain growth, China should expand its annual rate to around 8%. Now, close to 2 percent a year. Biden erroneously stated the growth rate of China.
According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s economy expanded by 4.5 percent in the first quarter and 6.3 percent in the second. However, the GDP only increased by 0.8 percent from April to June of this year, following a 2.2 percent growth in the first quarter. Additionally, Biden stated that he desired sensible relations with China.
One area where the US has concerns about China is the way that they bully, coerce, and intimidate countries around the world by providing high-interest infrastructure loans and then seizing assets when countries default, according to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House. Kirby mentioned that the US has consistently resisted China’s actions, moving this week to restrict outbound investment in particular Chinese industries. When it comes to China’s behavior, intimidation, and coercion of not only their neighbors but also countries throughout the world, he said, “We’ve never shied away from calling it as we see it.” “This is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and it is challenging and complex. The president is aware of that.” “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep working to strengthen our channels of communication,” she said.
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China’s Respond to Biden
Beijing has retaliated angrily to Biden’s remarks. Liu Pengyu, a spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy, cautioned Washington against using Beijing as a “scapegoat” and stoking “confrontation and division.” Without naming Biden by name, he added in a statement to the Reuters news agency last Friday, “We oppose the US side seeking to make an issue of China, smearing China, or talking down China’s prospects.”
According to Liu, China’s behavior in terms of its GDP rate has considerably contributed to the expansion of the global economy. There hasn’t been a “real easing in bilateral relations” between Washington and Beijing, the news source stated, despite recent high-level discussions between US and Chinese officials.
The question of whether Biden’s most recent remarks might jeopardize plans for the US president to meet with President Xi Jinping later this year—possibly on the margins of the Group of 20 leaders conference in India next month—was left unanswered by Kirby.
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