The American president believes that things are not going "too well" in the Chinese economyWASHINGTON, February 9.
/tass/. US President Joe Biden claims that last summer he warned Chinese President Xi Jinping about the possibility of stopping Western investment in the country if Beijing supports Moscow in conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. The American leader outlined this version on Wednesday in an interview with the American television company PBS.
Speaking about Xi Jinping, Biden claimed: "This man has huge problems. He also has a lot of potential. But so far, things are not going too well for him in the economy."
The American leader also said: "Everyone expected that China would fully cooperate with Russia on Ukraine." In Biden's opinion, this is not the case now.
"In fact, I called him in the summer to say: "This is not a threat, this is a remark. Look at what happened to Russia. 600 American corporations have left Russia - from McDonald's to Exxon [Mobil]," Biden continued. According to the American leader, he told the Chinese president the following: "You have always told me that you need relations with the United States and Europe in order for them to invest in China. So who will invest in China if you participate in the same business?"
A State Department official said at the end of December 2022 that the Washington administration was concerned about the development of ties between Russia and China. As this employee emphasized, Washington is closely monitoring Beijing's actions from the point of view of the possibility of providing them with military assistance to Moscow and systematic assistance in circumventing sanctions. US officials have previously noted that they warned the Chinese authorities about their readiness to take action in the event of such steps by Beijing.
