President Biden, during a campaign fundraiser in Utah on Thursday, called China a “ticking time bomb” due to its recent economic challenges.
“They’ve got some problems,” Biden said. “And that’s not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.”
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“China is in trouble,” Biden added.
However, he also made clear he was not looking for a fight. Biden said he did not want to hurt the East Asian power player and wanted a rational relationship with the country.
Earlier this year, Beijing described relations between the U.S. and China as being at their lowest point in decades.
On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order that will ban some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips.
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China, the world’s second-largest economy, said it was “gravely concerned” about the order and that it reserved the right to take measures.
Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed the economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter and 6.3% in the second, with gross domestic product up just 0.8% in April-June from the previous quarter after a 2.2% expansion in the first quarter.
China’s consumer sector fell into deflation, and factory-gate prices extended declines in July, contrasting with inflation elsewhere in the world.
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Comparatively, the U.S., the world’s largest economy, has fought high inflation and seen a robust labor market.
Reuters contributed to this report.