“We believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China,” Biden told the leaders about his Chinese counterpart in opening remarks Saturday, a portion of which were publicised by the official audio feed in an apparent error. Biden added that Xi is “looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest”.
US President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic saying China is “testing” the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region during a Quad leaders’ summit — even as the bloc’s members in their public remarks sidestepped the idea that they are a counterweight to Chinese influence.
The Quad leaders, Biden and prime ministers Narendra Modi of India, Fumio Kishida of Japan and Anthony Albanese of Australia, kicked off their meeting with warm words for their counterparts and no explicit mention of their regional rival. Once reporters were escorted out of the room, they turned to their first topic: China.
