Mike Bloomberg said during the latest Democratic presidential debate that China’s human rights record is “abominable” — but avoided calling President Xi Jinping a dictator.

“In terms of whether he’s a dictator, he does serve at the behest of the Politburo, of their group of people, but there’s no question he has an enormous amount of power,” the former New York City mayor said in response to a question that cited his past comments.

“But he does play to his constituency. You can negotiate with him. That’s exactly what we have to do: Make it seem that it’s in his interest and in his people’s interest to do what we want to do,” Bloomberg added.

In an interview with PBS in September, Bloomberg said Xi “is not a dictator” because “he has a constituency to answer to.”

During the debate in South Carolina, the billionaire said: “I think the Chinese government has not been open to the press, the freedom of press does not exist there.

“Their human rights record is abominable and we should make a fuss, which we have been doing, I suppose,” he continued. “But make no mistake about it, we have to deal with China if we’re ever going to solve the climate crisis. We have to deal with them because our economies are inextricably linked.”

The Midtown-based Bloomberg LP has financial interests in China.

Mainland China accounts for 1 percent of the financial and media giant’s revenue, with Hong Kong accounting for another 4 percent, according to the Washington Post.

Bloomberg, 78, still holds a stake in the company, but has said he would consider selling it if elected president.