China’s top diplomat urges US to ‘avoid misjudgment’ after Blinken postpones visit to Beijing over balloon controversy
- Wang Yi tells US secretary of state both sides need to ‘manage and control differences’
- Blinken calls surveillance balloon’s presence in US airspace ‘a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’
“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law. We do not accept any groundless speculation and hype,” Wang was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry statement issued on Saturday.
03:06
Pentagon says it is tracking ‘Chinese spy balloon’ in US ahead of Blinken’s first trip to Beijing
“In the face of unexpected situations, what both parties need to do is to maintain concentration, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments, and manage and control differences.”
US downs suspected Chinese spy balloon
Blinken said he told Wang “that the presence of this surveillance balloon in US airspace is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law … and that the PRC decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have”. The US shot the balloon down on Saturday.
Blinken said he planned to visit Beijing when conditions allowed and that the US would continue to maintain lines of communication with China to address the balloon situation and other issues.
Pentagon officials said on Thursday that the US was tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been spotted over its airspace. US officials said it was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.
The Pentagon said a day later that there was another balloon over Latin America.
Amid reports of Blinken-Xi meeting, US focused on avoiding danger
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon. We have no further information to provide at this time,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.
On Friday, as some US lawmakers called for the first balloon to be shot down, the foreign ministry in Beijing said the balloon had accidentally strayed from its planned course into American airspace.
Describing the balloon as an “unmanned airship employed for civilian purposes”, it said it was mainly used for meteorological research and had deviated far from its planned course because of strong westerly winds and its limited self-steering capability.
01:07
No change to US’ one-China stand on Taiwan, Blinken tells Wang Yi on G20 sidelines in Rome
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
In a separate statement on Saturday, the ministry said some US politicians and media had used the incident to smear China, which was something China “resolutely opposed”.
