State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Wednesday he believes that US President Joe Biden’s "dictator" remark regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping does not need further clarification.
"I do not think that the President’s comments need to be clarified any further or to be interpreted any further," Patel told reporters.
He further said that the United States and China continue to have "differences and disagreements," but Washington believes diplomacy is the only way forward in bilateral relations.
"It should come as no surprise, of course, that we have differences and disagreements with the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and the President [Biden] believes that diplomacy, including this recent trip undertaken by the Secretary [of State Antony Blinken] is a responsible way to manage tensions, clear up misperceptions, avoid miscalculations, and all of this is in our interest to do that. That does not mean, of course, we will not be blunt and forthright about our differences," Patel said during a press briefing.
Earlier on Wednesday, Biden said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping did not have all the information about the incident involving a Chinese balloon that the United States shot down, adding that it was a "great embarrassment for dictators."
Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning said Beijing had expressed a strong protest to Washington regarding Biden's recent statement about Xi.