The White House is seeking to strike a balance between providing public support for peaceful protests in China, a reaction to Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s “zero-COVID” policy, while not angering the leader after this month’s first in-person meeting between him and President Joe Biden.
“Our message to peaceful protesters around the world is the same and consistent: People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “Nothing’s changed about the president’s firm belief in democracy and democratic institutions and how important that is.”
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Kirby, who confirmed Biden is monitoring the situation in China, declined to respond directly to demonstration chants of “Freedom!” and “Xi Jinping, step down!” He also downplayed potential economic repercussions of the disruptions, including to supply chains.
“The president’s not going to speak for protesters,” the strategic communications adviser said. “These protesters are speaking for themselves.”
He continued that “the president recognizes that in many countries around the world, COVID is still an issue.”
Large crowds have gathered in Chinese cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, to voice their concern with China’s COVID-19 policies, which continue to include mass testing and strict snap lockdowns three years into the pandemic. Many on the streets have reproached the approach after 10 people in the western city of Urumqi, Xinjiang, died during a building fire because their apartment doors had been sealed shut. The province has been locked down for three months.
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The unrest in China is unprecedented since Xi became the Chinese Communist Party’s general secretary and has slowly amassed more and more power.
