News Snapshot:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing was touted by President Biden as the beginning of a long-overdue “thaw” in relations between the People’s Republic of China and the U.S. after they had approached Cold War levels of mutual hostility in recent months. But the thaw didn’t last longer than Biden’s next alleged slip of the tongue. At a fundraiser in California last week, he referred to Xi Jinping as a “dictator” who was “embarrassed” by supposed ignorance of the Chinese spy balloon incident. China’s political and diplomatic establishment immediately protested in irate terms, calling the U.S. president’s comment...
