WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden taunted Chinese President Xi Jinping in his State of the Union address, saying autocracies had grown weaker around the world and no one would want the Chinese leader’s job.
“Name me a world leader who’d change places with Xi Jinping,” Biden shouted, departing from his prepared text Tuesday night as he waved a finger. “Name me one, name me one.”
It was the most fiery reference to China in the speech, days after the U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina following the airship’s flight across the country. Biden made only a passing reference to the uproar.
