US President Joe Biden branded Chinese leader Xi Jinping a "dictator" after a face to face meeting.
It comes after the two leaders held a tightly-scripted diplomatic encounter in California this week.
The Pacific states summit aimed to calming fears over the US and China drifting toward military conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
However, during a news conference following his private four-hour session with Xi, the 80 year old president reiterated his prior assessment that Xi is a dictator.
The Chinese leader declared his commitment to “stable, healthy and sustainable” ties with the U.S.
PA
President Biden said: "Look, he is. He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country."
It is not the first time the President has caused controversy after calling the Chinese leader a dictator.
At a June fundraiser in Northern California, Chinese officials called the remarks absurd and a provocation.
Earlier this week, the President announced agreements on a number of confidence-building measures — specifically a resumption of high-level military-to-military communications.
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President Biden and Xi Jinping held meetings earlier this week
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President Biden said that "open, clear, direct communications" will help avoid “vital miscalculations on either side”.
He confirmed the two countries would further discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence, including the risks and safety issues associated with the emerging technology.
There was also an agreement between the two to steps that could help curb the flow of Chinese chemicals used in the US production of fentanyl.
President Biden said: "Our meetings have always been candid and straightforward. We haven’t always agreed, but they’ve always been straightforward.
"And today built on several months of groundwork we’ve laid over the past several months of high-level diplomacy between our teams."
The meeting between the two was their first in a year.
Biden said: “In the months ahead, we’re going to continue to preserve and pursue high-level diplomacy with the PRC — in both directions — to keep the lines of communication open, including between President Xi and me."
Xi, meanwhile, declared his commitment to “stable, healthy and sustainable” ties with the US.
