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Updated March 26th, 2021 at 11:24 IST

Biden tears into Jinping in 1st press conference, says China won't surpass US on his watch

US President Joe Biden said that China’s ambition of becoming the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world is “not going to happen under my watch".

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Biden
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US President Joe Biden on March 25 said that China’s ambition of becoming the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world is “not going to happen on my watch”. While speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden vowed to invest heavily to ensure America prevails in the rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. He said that he had spent “hours upon hours” with Xi Jinping when he served as vice president under former President Barack Obama and further added that he was convinced that the Chinese President believed autocracy - not democracy - held the key to the future. 

Biden said, “China has an overall goal ... to become the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world. That's not going to happen on my watch because the United States is going to continue to grow”. 

Further, the US President also said that he had made it clear to Jinping that the US was not looking for a confrontation, but would insist China abide by international rules for fair competition, fair trade and respect for human rights. Biden also took aim at the Chinese president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin for embracing autocracy. He said Jinping is one of the guys like Putin, who thinks that autocracy is the wave of the future and democracy can’t function in an ever-complex world. 

“He (Xi) doesn't have a democratic - with a small 'd' - bone in his body, but he's a smart, smart guy,” the US president said. 

US is ‘going to make real investments' 

During the press conference, Biden also said that he would work with US allies to hold China accountable for its actions on Taiwan, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and its treatment of the Uyghur minority, as well push Beijing to stick to international rules for fair trade. The Democratic leader recalled his two-hour conversation with Jinping and added that he told the Chinese leader that as long as he and his country continue to blatantly violate human rights, the US is going to continue in an unrelenting way to call it to the attention of the world and make it clear what’s happening. 

Moreover, Biden went on to say that he would ensure increased US investment in promising new technologies, such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. He said that he aimed to return US investment in research and technology development closer to the 2% of GDP invested in the 1960s from the current rate of about 0.7%. "The future lies in who can, in fact, own the future as it relates to technology, quantum computing, a whole range of things, including in the medical fields," he said.

Biden noted that China is spending three times more than the US on infrastructure, but he also said, “We are going to make real investments”. 

(Image: AP) 


 

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Published March 26th, 2021 at 11:24 IST

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