Biden stands by comment that Xi is a ‘dictator’ hours after their first meeting in a year

U.S. President Joe Biden has again called his Chinese counterpart a dictator — a move that could potentially unravel the progress made between the world’s two leading powers.

Shortly after his first meeting with China President Xi Jinping in a year, Biden responded to a question on whether he stood by his June comment labeling Xi a dictator.

“Well, look, he is,” Biden said Wednesday after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.

“He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours.”