Xi Zinping is a dictator, says Biden. Again

Joe Biden just can't hold himself back. After a four-hour session with the Chinese president in San Francisco in which at least some attempt was made to warm relations after a very cold spell, Biden got chatting to reporters and in off-the-cuff remarks said Xi was a dictator. He had used that term before, way back. Now most historians would probably agree with him. Technically, the way Communism works in China, the Communist party appoints its leader and he is the Boss from then on. He doesn't have to worry about being thrown out by the people in a democratic vote. So, the word dictator is sort of ok. But is it ok for Biden to call him a dictator which is a pejorative word in western thinking? Well, surely not after the first session together for a year. He must have known it would irritate Xi and why call him that when they had been getting on slightly better than before? In the world of diplomacy it was the wrong thing to say at the wrong moment but it did show that Biden likes to be honest about his feelings. He thinks Xi is a dictator and when asked it just slips out. Perhaps his honesty will win him votes in the US but I doubt it will win him friends in Beijing. So after the four hours together in San Francisco it's three steps forward in terms of Washington/Beijing relations and two steps back.