Asked about his call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Biden said that the US “must speak up on human rights” and that there will “be repercussions for China” over human rights abuses.
“There will be repercussions for China and [Xi Jinping] knows that,” Biden said
“What I’m doing is, making clear that, we, in fact, are going to continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude,” Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during tonight’s town hall.
Biden went on to describe what he told the Chinese leader with regards to human rights and the United States’ stance.
“I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States. And so the idea is, that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uyghurs in the western mountains of China and Taiwan trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful…he gets, it culturally there are different norms that each country and that leaders are expected to follow,” Biden said.
“China is trying very hard to become the world leader. And to get that moniker and be able to do that they have to gain the confidence of other countries. And as long as they are engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it’s going to be hard for them to do that,” Biden explained
Biden ended his answer by noting that the issue and China policy in general is “much more complicated than that, I shouldn’t try to talk China policy in 10 minutes on television.”
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