Biden calls China ‘ticking time bomb,’ citing economic challenges

President Biden on Thursday described China as a “ticking time bomb,” pointing to the country’s underlying economic challenges in some of his starkest comments about Beijing to date.

Biden, speaking to supporters at a fundraiser in Utah, suggested China was in trouble because of slowing growth and a high unemployment rate.

“China is a ticking time bomb in many cases,” Biden said.

“They’ve got some problems,” he added. “That’s not good, because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things.”

The president’s comments risk exacerbating tensions with Beijing at a time when the relationship between the two countries is already tense, though U.S. officials have conducted outreach in recent weeks.

Biden earlier this week issued an executive order restricting certain U.S. investments in Chinese technology sectors, citing the risk that those investments could be used to help Beijing’s military and intelligence programs.

Thursday was not the first time Biden has spoken more openly than usual about China at a political fundraiser.

During a July swing through California, Biden said at a fundraiser that Chinese President Xi Jinping was a “dictator” who got upset when a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of the U.S. earlier in the year.

“That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said at the time.