China Laughs at Biden’s Balloon Response
2023.02.19 06:58
China Laughs at Biden’s Balloon Response
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – China’s top diplomat hit back at the United States, describing President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down a balloon over American airspace and the increased state of alert as “incomprehensible and almost hysterical.”
Tensions between China’s ruling Communist Party and the Biden administration, which claims that the floating object was being used for spying, have risen as a result of Wang Yi’s remarks. He spoke at the Munich Security Conference, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris were also meeting.
Wang stated to government officials and experts in the German city on Saturday, “It is clearly a violation of international norms” and that “it is 100% an abuse of military force.” After meeting Pakistan’s foreign minister, he had previously made remarks similar to these.
Wang defended Beijing’s position that the balloon was intended for civilian use and criticized the United States for ignoring “the most basic facts” in some of the most vehement remarks about the incident to date. As of Saturday, there were rumors that Harris and Blinken would meet Wang in person on the sidelines of the conference in the Bavarian capital. However, neither Harris nor Blinken has made any plans to do so.
Blinken postponed a trip to China in an effort to improve relations with China due to the downing of a balloon over the Atlantic coast. Without specifying when, the US president stated on Friday that he intends to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to “get to the bottom” of the balloon spat.
Although China initially expressed regret for the balloon’s alleged accidental detour over US territory, it has since denied that the craft was designed for surveillance and criticized the decision to shoot it down as excessive.
Wang also criticized Taiwan and US trade policy, calling the CHIPS Act, which was meant to encourage US semiconductor production, “100% protectionism” and a violation of WTO regulations. Wang stated that Taiwan, which China regards as its territory and the United States has pledged to protect militarily, “will never be a country.”
Wang is in Germany right after trips to France and Italy, where he tried to rekindle ties with Europe and called for more cooperation on tech issues and trade, highlighting Beijing’s efforts to counter what it believes the US is doing to contain it.
Almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, Wang is expected to visit Hungary before heading to Moscow.
