White House stands by Biden ‘real problems’ remark: ‘It is a fact’

SAN FRANCISCO — The White House sought to contextualize President Joe Biden’s assessment of China after Biden told donors Chinese President Xi Jinping has “real problems” regarding his economy.

“He has been, as you said, very candid in public settings about the challenges that the Chinese economy is facing right now,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday of Biden. “It’s, obviously, in the public domain on many fronts, and it is a fact that President Xi has domestic economic challenges.”

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Kirby previewed Wednesday’s schedule with Xi, which includes a casual meet-and-greet before a more formal bilateral sitdown. Biden will then hold a solo press conference.

“We can fully expect that the president will make it clear on Taiwan that they’re essential to our One China policy, that we do not support Taiwan independence, that we do not want to see the tensions across the Taiwan Strait evolve into any kind of conflict, certainly not military, that we don’t want to see the status quo changed in a unilateral way, and certainly not by force,” Kirby said.

Biden will also raise human rights concerns with Xi, particularly related to China’s Uyghur population, according to Kirby. The spokesman added that Biden “never shies away” from those difficult conversations.

“We absolutely believe that the situation needs to be remedied and these people need to be afforded civil and human rights, as anybody else around the world, and we’ll continue to make that case,” he said. “I wish I could be perfectly predictive on results here.”

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During a campaign fundraiser with Democratic strategist and entrepreneur Clint Reilly, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Biden reflected on the importance of international summits, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the reason he and Xi are both in San Francisco.

“In our visit to San Francisco this week, we’re meeting with APEC,” Biden said Tuesday night. “President Xi is another example of how we’re reestablishing American leadership in the world. It’s taking hold. They’ve got real problems.”