US President Joe Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a "dictator".

This happened during a reception in California with the participation of donors of the Democratic Party and in the presence of journalists.

Speaking about the recent episode in which the US shot down a Chinese balloon it said was being used to spy on US soil, Biden said the Chinese president "didn't know the balloon was there". Then he added: "It's very embarrassing for dictators when they don't know what happened."

At a similar event in October 2022, he spoke about the danger of a nuclear "apocalypse", which he said could be caused by Russia.

It is not the first time Biden has made such a loud statement during fundraising receptions - events with a limited number of attendees, where there are no microphones and cameras, notes AFP.

His comments come a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the first high-ranking US official to visit China in years.

The visit was in an attempt to warm relations between Washington and Beijing.

According to Biden, however, it will be some time before that is possible.

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