China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the words of US President Joe Biden, who called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a dictator.

As reported by Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on 16 November said this rhetoric is extremely wrong and an irresponsible political manipulation, and that Beijing strongly opposes such statements.

She added that "there are always ill-intentioned people who try to drive a wedge between China-US relations, which will not succeed".

Mao Ning refused to specify who she meant.

On 15 November, Joe Biden called Xi Jinping a "dictator" just hours after their one-on-one meeting. 

In June, US President Joe Biden also called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "dictator" when he spoke about his reaction to the downing of a Chinese reconnaissance balloon.