SALT LAKE CITY, Aug 11 — US President Joe Biden yesterday called China a "ticking time bomb" because of economic challenges including weak growth, but misquoted the country's growth rate.
"They have got some problems. That's not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things," Biden said at a political fundraiser in Utah.
Biden said on Thursday he did not want to hurt China and wanted a rational relationship with the country, but had a dire prediction about the country's future.
"China is a ticking time bomb ... China is in trouble. China was growing at 8 per cent a year to maintain growth. Now close to 2 per cent a year," he said.
Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed the economy grew 4.5 per cent in the first quarter and 6.3 per cent in the second, with gross domestic product up just 0.8 per cent in April-June from the previous quarter after a 2.2 per cent expansion in the first quarter.
There was no immediate comment from China's foreign ministry.
Biden's remarks were reminiscent of comments he made at another fundraiser in June when he referred to President Xi Jinping as a "dictator." China called those remarks a provocation.
Those comments came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed a visit to China aimed at stabilizing relations that Beijing described as being at their lowest point since formal ties were established in 1979.
On Wednesday, Biden signed an executive order that will prohibit some new US investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips. China, which has the world's second largest economy, said it was "gravely concerned" about the order and reserved the right to take measures.
China's consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July, contrasting with inflation elsewhere in the world.
The United States, the world's largest economy, has fought high inflation and seen a robust labor market. — Reuters
