China has called President Joe Biden’s remarks labeling its leader, Xi Jinping, as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”

In a clear show of anger, the Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said President Biden’s comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.”

“It is a blatant political provocation,” Ms Mao said at a daily briefing.

“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition.” Mao Ning said.

The new spat comes just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned from a trip to Beijing aimed at strengthening a tie that has become increasingly strained.

CNN reported that President Joe Biden compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to “dictators” during a political fundraiser in California on Tuesday. The comment has triggered an immediate response from Beijing.

Biden said, “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset, in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it, was he didn’t know it was there,” Mr Biden said at a fundraiser event on Tuesday.

“That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened,” he added.

Mr. Biden was referring to the Chinese spy balloon that the United States shot down earlier this year.

Blinken, the first US secretary of state to visit Beijing in five years, just wrapped up two days of meetings with top officials, including Xi, in the Chinese capital, that ended in no major breakthroughs but agreements from both sides to continue deeper diplomatic interactions.