Biden brushes off Chinese leadership's harsh rhetoric
US President Joe Biden on Thursday brushed off the harsh rhetoric coming this week from Beijing, where the communist nation's leadership accused Washington of adopting a dangerously aggressive posture.
Asked by reporters what he made of the unusually direct criticism by President Xi Jinping and others, Biden said: "Not much."
Xi was quoted Monday by Chinese state media saying that the United States is leading a Western effort at "all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China."
Xi said this "has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country's development."
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a press conference that there could be "catastrophic consequences" if US policy remains unchanged.
"If the United States does not hit the brakes but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation," Qin said.
Biden has sought to erect what he calls diplomatic "guardrails" in the relationship between the rival superpowers.
However, despite signs of improving relations after a Biden-Xi summit last November, relations hit a new rocky patch after the US military shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying across the United States.