United States president Joe Biden has called China a “ticking time bomb in many cases”, as he pointed to the country's weak growth and economic challenges, Reuters reported.

The U.S. president highlighted China's high unemployment and ageing workforce, saying, “China is in trouble.”

He was speaking at a political fundraiser in Utah on Aug. 10 (U.S. time).

But the full context of his remarks were not clear, according to other U.S. media, which picked up the syndicated story.

“They have got some problems. That’s not good, because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” Biden additionally said.

The 80-year-old American leader also said he wanted to have a “rational relationship with China”, declaring, “I don’t want to hurt China, but I’m watching.”

Biden’s remarks came after he previously made other comments at another fundraiser in June when he referred to president Xi Jinping as a “dictator”.

China called the remarks a “political provocation”, The Guardian reported.

However, it has also been noted that Biden is known to be more candid with audiences at fundraisers.

Comments came after China visit

Those comments by Biden came shortly after U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken completed a visit to China aimed at stabilising relations, which Beijing described as being at their lowest point since formal ties were established in 1979.

Biden on Aug. 9 signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and AI, according to Reuters.

China said it was “gravely concerned” about the order and reserved the right to take measures.

China's economy is the second largest in the world.

China's economy experiencing deflation

China may be entering an extended period of much slower economic growth with stagnated consumer prices and wages, The Guardian reported.

The country's economy fell into deflation in July.

The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.3 per cent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) said.

It had remained flat in June.

Analysts said the data was a clear sign that the Chinese economy was weakening.

This would be bad news for EU companies and economies that are key trading partners with China.

July’s data was China’s first negative inflation reading since early 2021, when prices were weaker as the Covid-19 pandemic hit demand, and pork prices fell.

Top photo via Joe Biden