China has strongly opposed the U.S. approach to the suspected spy balloon that was shot down – describing it as an overreaction
They also once again explained that this was a civilian airship that was simply monitoring the weather and was blown astray into US airspace.
These are claims that Washington have disputed.
It has been interesting to watch China’s reaction throughout this affair.
On Friday, when they first admitted that this balloon belonged to them, Beijing were apologetic and said they regretted how it had ended up in US territory.
It was an uncharacteristic approach from China who are usually more aggressive in these statements.
But as time passed, Beijing’s tone changed and they started to accuse U.S. politicians and the media of using this incident as a way of attacking China.
This affair has now renewed tensions between these two global superpowers, with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cancelling his much-anticipated trip to Beijing at the last minute.
Although his visit was largely seen as symbolic – as opposed to making any substantive policy breakthroughs – it was still seen as another big step in repairing relations between China and the U.S.
Instead, face-to-face talks have been cancelled and it looks likely that it will now be some time before Secretary Blinken makes the journey to Beijing.
