uS Foreign Minister Antony Blinken met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi for talks on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Blinken addressed Wang’s violation of American sovereignty by a Chinese surveillance balloon and stressed “that this irresponsible act must never happen again,” said Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department.
In addition, Blinken made it clear once again that Chinese support for Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine would have consequences. Blinken also underlined that the United States did not seek conflict with China and did not want a new Cold War. However, the US Secretary of State affirmed that the company would defend its own values. Blinken also stressed the importance of ongoing diplomatic dialogue.
For his part, Wang accused the US of “excessive use of force” at the meeting in relation to the launch of the balloon. China’s official news agency Xinhua reported Saturday night that Wang “made clear China’s tough stance in the so-called airship incident.” He also called on the US to “change course, acknowledge and repair the damage that its excessive use of force has caused to US-Chinese relations.”
Wang: “Hysterical and absurd” reaction
Against the background of the tense relations between the two countries, not least because of the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American coast, there had been speculation about a meeting between the two diplomats in Munich.
Wang had previously accused the United States of a “hysterical and absurd” response to the affair surrounding the alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down in American airspace. In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, he accused the US government of having a “misguided” view of China and wanting to “smear” Beijing’s reputation.
China urges the United States not to do such “absurd things” just to “divert attention from domestic problems,” Wang said. “There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to shoot down every single one of them?” asked the top Chinese foreign policy maker ironically.
The day-long overflight of the suspected Chinese spy balloon over several top-secret American nuclear weapons depots had led to a scandal between Washington and Beijing. Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing at short notice.
An American fighter plane finally shot down the balloon over the sea on February 4th. The American military then salvaged debris that is now being examined. Beijing describes the balloon as a weather balloon and rejects allegations of espionage.