Biden Mocked Xi Jinping... Mentioned 'Isiljukchi'

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned the Chinese four-character idiom 'Isiljeukchi (以實則治)', seemingly targeting U.S. President Joe Biden. It means that governing a country well comes from actual actions. It implies that politics should be conducted through actions, not words. The Biden administration has been unable to pass even the climate change budget due to opposition within the U.S. political sphere.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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On the 1st (local time), President Xi delivered a written greeting at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) special summit, stating, "The adverse effects of climate change are becoming more apparent," and added, "How to respond to climate change and how to revive the global economy are the epochal challenges we face."

President Xi proposed three measures for all parties to take stronger joint action against climate change: ▲maintaining multilateral agreements ▲practical actions ▲accelerating green transition.

He emphasized, "Through multilateralism, let us set realistic goals and visions, and achieve carbon neutrality targets according to each country's circumstances," and added, "Let us lead green development together by developing new energy resources through scientific and technological innovation, and transforming the energy industry and consumption structure."

At the end of his speech, President Xi referred to Isiljeukchi. This idiom means that politics conducted through words is not proper politics, and that politics conducted through actions is the right politics.

In this context, the state-run Global Times criticized the U.S. political sphere, saying that the United States, which withdrew from the climate agreement, is slandering China and some other countries, pointing fingers at China to hide its own mistakes and incompetence.

Yang Puchang, a researcher at the Beijing University Energy Research Institute, said, "Biden's aggressive remarks against China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are a desperate measure for the U.S. to defend itself," and criticized, "The U.S. is showing hypocrisy by making grandiose statements without taking direct action."

Lu Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated, "Technology transfer is very important to reduce greenhouse gases in poor countries, but the U.S. does not even mention technology transfer that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions," and argued that the U.S. must demonstrate its willingness to participate in global efforts to combat global warming through actions.

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