Joe Biden doesn’t think his words about Xi Jinping, whom he called “a dictator,” will have consequences for China-US thaw efforts. “The answer to your question is no,” the American President replied to a question on the subject during the press conference with Narendra Modi. Biden then sought to downplay what he described as “hysteria” over relations with China: “We had an incident that created confusion,” he said of the spy balloon story, “but Secretary of State had blinks a great visit to China and I look forward to meeting with President Xi in the future.” “I don’t think they had any real consequences,” Biden concluded.
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The US President then described the content of the summit with Modi. “The PM and I had a good discussion about democratic values, it’s the nature of our relationship. We are direct and respect each other because our countries are both democracies.” This is how Joe Biden responded during the White House press conference with Narendra Modi to those who remember concerns about discrimination against religious minorities and the repression of dissent in India. “There are common democratic traits in our countries and in our peoples, our diversity, our culture, tolerance,” he added, stressing that these values are “in the DNA of America and I believe in the DNA of India.”