The head of US diplomacy told his Chinese counterpart on Saturday that the incident of the balloon shot down by US fighters “must never happen again” at a rare meeting in Munich, the State Department spokesman said.
Antony Blinken also warned Beijing’s newly appointed head of diplomacy, Wang Yi, about the “implications and consequences” for China if it is confirmed to be providing “material support” to Russia in its war with Ukraine, according to the same source.
The meeting, which took place behind closed doors on the fringes of the conference on security in Munich, in southern Germany, lasted about an hour and the dialogue took place “in a frank and open manner”, he in turn revealed to the ‘ media’ a senior State Department official, who remained anonymous.
Blinken urged his counterpart that the case of the Chinese balloon, which flew over US soil for several days before being shot down, was “an irresponsible act that must never happen again”.
The balloon incident prompted Blinken to postpone a visit to Beijing scheduled for early February at the last minute, reigniting tensions between the two great rival powers.
“The Secretary of State has made it clear that the United States will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty and that China’s high-altitude surveillance program has been exposed to the eyes of the world,” the State Department spokesman continued.
“Regarding Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, the secretary warned of the implications and consequences for China if it provides material support to Russia or helps it evade sanctions,” imposed by the West.
Blinken was also keen to reiterate to Wang Yi that the United States is not looking for a “conflict” with China, nor a “new cold war”, and that Washington intends to keep the lines of communication open with Beijing despite their differences.
Earlier, and in his speech at the conference, Wang echoed Beijing’s criticism of the United States for shooting down the balloon, indicating that it was a flying object used primarily for meteorological research with limited capabilities and that it was of route changed because of the wind.
Wang also accused the United States of violating international legal standards by deciding to destroy the object with a missile fired from a US fighter jet.
“These actions do not show that the US is big and strong, but they indicate the exact opposite,” he said.
Wang, who is the top foreign policy official of the Chinese Communist Party, also accused the United States of blocking China’s economic progress and hindering its development.
Source: DN
