US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cancels his visit to China
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has indefinitely postponed his visit to China, which was supposed to take place next week. The reason was the appearance of a Chinese balloon in the airspace of the United States. The Pentagon said that the balloon could be military and used for espionage purposes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China declared that it was a meteorological probe and apologized for the fact that it had accidentally flown into American territory. Nevertheless, the American side regarded the incident as an invasion of airspace and a violation of international law.
State Secretary Blinken’s visit to Beijing was agreed upon by the heads of the United States and China last November. This would be the first visit of this level since 2017. Blinken had to discuss a wide range of issues with the Chinese leadership, including economic cooperation, policy regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, international purchases of microchips, and the growing instability in China-Taiwan relations, which especially worries the United States.
Now, according to media reports with references to the State Department, Blinken will visit China “as soon as there are suitable conditions for this.”
A Chinese balloon was spotted over the territory of the Montana hut a few days ago and is still in the air. High-ranking US officials advised President Joe Biden not to shoot it down, fearing that falling debris could pose a threat. There are 150 intercontinental ballistic missile mines at the Malmstrom Air Force base in Montana.
- News about the aerostat appeared against the background of a speech by CIA director William Burns at Georgetown University in Washington. Burns called China the biggest geopolitical problem the United States is currently facing.
- Relations between Washington and Beijing have recently been strained over Taiwan, human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China, and Beijing’s military activity in the South China Sea.
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