Senior US officials have reportedly pressed Beijing on alleged election meddling multiple times in recent months
Joe Biden (R) greets Xi Jinping in Woodside, California, November 15, 2023 © AP / Doug MIlls
US President Joe Biden asked his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, not to “interfere in the 2024 US presidential election” when the two met in November, CNN reported on Tuesday. Xi reportedly told Biden that Beijing would keep its hands off the vote.
The exchange supposedly took place during high-profile discussions between the two leaders in California. An anonymous source told CNN that Biden was the one that raised the issue.
Ever since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, American officials – most often Democrats – have repeatedly claimed that foreign powers are “interfering” in US elections. These claims are often unsubstantiated – as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into so-called “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Moscow found in 2019 – or based on information withheld from the public, as was the case with the US National Intelligence Council’s heavily-redacted report into supposed efforts by Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba to meddle in the 2022 midterm elections.
Beijing and Moscow have repeatedly denied meddling in American elections, but US officials have persisted with their public accusations.
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During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Wang for the same assurance that Xi reportedly gave Biden in November, CNN claimed. Wang, like Xi, promised that China would not interfere in this year’s election.
“The potential for China to interfere in or influence US elections has repeatedly come up at senior-level meetings between the two nations in recent months,” CNN’s source said.
The news outlet listed Natasha Bertrand as a contributor to Tuesday’s article. Bertrand played a key role in pushing false allegations of Russian election interference after Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, and in boosting debunked claims by American spies that Russia fabricated damaging information on Biden’s son, Hunter, ahead of the 2020 election.
