Biden says China will 'eat our lunch' two years after mocking the idea that China will 'eat our lunch'

President Joe Biden said on Thursday after a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping that China will "eat our lunch" if the United States fails to continue taking action to counter the nation's influence.

CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins reported on Thursday that "President Biden says his call with Chinese President Xi Jinping lasted two hours. 'If we don't get moving, they're going to eat our lunch,' he tells reporters in the Oval."

The comments contradict a statement Biden made in 2019, where he mocked the idea that China will "eat our lunch."

"China is going to eat our lunch? Come on man," he said during a campaign event in Iowa at the time.

The shift in tone is part of an overall change in Biden's public positions towards China. While the President has a history of being friendly towards the Chinese government, his stance has hardened in recent years.

The Biden administration plans to continue Trump-era tariffs on China and has raised concern over human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government in Hong Kong and East Turkestan.

Many have argued, however, that Biden's stance on China is not hard enough, with some even suggesting that he may be compromised by the Chinese government. In the wake of the Hunter Biden scandal in October of last year, it was revealed that the Biden family has business connections to China, with Hunter Biden even being financially connected to a firm which aids the genocidal policies of the Chinese government towards Uyghurs.

Joe Biden has claimed to have no connection to his son's business dealings, a claim which has been disputed by former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski.