New Zealand’s PM doesn’t agree with Biden equating Xi with ‘dictators’

New Zealand’s prime minister said Thursday that he did not agree with US President Joe Biden equating China’s Xi Jinping with “dictators,” ahead of a visit to Beijing next week.

Asked if he concurred with Biden’s assessment of China’s leader, Chris Hipkins said “no,” adding that “the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people.”

Hipkins is due to meet Xi next week when he leads a trade delegation to China, the first visit by a New Zealand leader since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xi has led China since 2013, maintaining an iron grip on power by purging rivals and banning even modest forms of dissent.

Biden made the remark at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday, referencing the US decision to shoot down a Chinese balloon that Washington said was used for spying.

The US president said Xi had not known about the balloon, adding that not knowing was a “great embarrassment for dictators.”

Beijing’s foreign ministry responded Wednesday, calling Biden’s comments “ridiculous.”

New Zealand has in the past been notably less critical of China’s government than Western allies.

Almost a quarter of New Zealand’s export earnings come from China, making it one of the Western nations most dependent on ties with Beijing.