A senior State Department official said on Friday that “it would not be constructive” for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit Beijing at this time due to the flight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon overhead. the United States.
“[A] a clear assessment was that under the current conditions, it would not be constructive to visit Beijing at this time,” the official said, adding that the presence of the alleged Chinese spy balloon is “a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as the international law “. .”
Blinken has just postponed his upcoming trip to China in response to the alleged spy balloon, according to two US officials.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it is “a civilian airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorological.”
The official said the United States acknowledged “China’s statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law and it is unacceptable that it happened.” product,” the official said, calling it not an accusation but “a statement of fact.”
“After consultations with our interagency partners, as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this time for Secretary Blinken to travel to China,” the official told reporters, noting that Blinken was due to leave for Beijing on Friday. night.
“In the current environment, I think that would have significantly reduced the agenda that we could have tackled,” the official added.
Blinken conveyed the decision to postpone the trip directly to senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Friday morning, according to the official.
The US official said Blinken intended to visit China “as soon as possible when conditions permit”, but did not specify what conditions the US is monitoring.
“I think it would be better if I did not go into all the details of our diplomatic communications. But I will stress that we have been absolutely clear with our Chinese counterparts that this was an unacceptable and irresponsible incident,” the official said. “And we have been clear, again, about our concerns and our expectations.”
“I’m confident that will continue, and I’m confident that as our diplomatic channels remain open, we will continue to address this matter head-on,” the official said.
“I am confident that our communication channels will remain as important as ever,” the official said.
