Utah: China's growing economic woes, according to US Vice President Joe Biden, have turned the nation into a "ticking time bomb." At a private fundraising event in the western state of Utah, Biden declared that "China is a ticking time bomb in many cases."

He said, "China is in trouble," pointing to the nation's high unemployment rate and ageing workforce.

"Bad people do bad things when they are in trouble," he said. In June, Biden offended Beijing by calling his counterpart Xi Jinping a "dictator," a remark that was denounced as a "provocation" by China's foreign ministry.

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On Thursday, Biden insisted that he wanted to have "a rational relationship with China."

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"I don't want to hurt China, but I'm watching," he declared. Senior American officials, including chief diplomat Antony Blinken, have paid a series of visits to Beijing since the United States recently reopened its dialogue with China.

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Blinken wanted to put the recent tensions surrounding a Chinese balloon that was deemed to be a "spy" operation and was shot down by the US in February to rest