China’s balloon surveillance program has been ‘exposed to the world’: Blinken – National | 24CA News

The prime diplomats from the United States and China met on Saturday within the first high-level contact between their nations because the U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon two weeks in the past, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken sending the message that Beijing’s surveillance program had been “exposed to the world.”

Blinken and Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior international coverage official, held the hourlong talks in Munich, the place they had been attending a world safety convention, in line with the U.S. State Department.

“I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again,” Blinken stated in a tweet, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

His spokesman, Ned Price, stated in an announcement that Blinken “made clear the United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty, and that the PRC’s high-altitude surveillance balloon program _ which has intruded into the airspace of over 40 countries across five continents _ has been exposed to the world,” Price stated.

Blinken had canceled a visit to Beijing earlier this month as a result of balloon incident, which has turn into a serious difficulty of rivalry between the 2 nations. A gathering on the convention in Germany had been broadly anticipated.

Blinken additionally informed Wang that the U.S. doesn’t search battle with China, repeating an ordinary speaking level that the Biden administration has supplied because it has come into workplace.

“The United States will compete and will unapologetically stand up for our values and interests, but that we do not want conflict with the PRC and are not looking for a new Cold War,” Price stated. Blinken “underscored the importance of maintaining diplomatic dialogue and open lines of communication at all times.”

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In addition to the balloon incident, Price stated Blinken had reiterated a warning to China on offering help to Russia to assist with its battle in opposition to Ukraine, together with helping Moscow with evading sanctions the West has imposed on Russia.

“I warned China against providing materiel support to Russia,” Blinken stated in his tweet. “I also emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication.”

Earlier Saturday, Wang had renewed Beijing’s criticism of the United States for taking pictures down the balloon, arguing that the transfer didn’t level to U.S. power.

Beijing insists the white orb shot down off the Carolina coast on Feb. 4 was simply an errant civilian airship used primarily for meteorological analysis that went off track resulting from winds and had solely restricted “self-steering” capabilities.

Wang, the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, repeated that insistence in a speech on the convention and accused the U.S. of violating worldwide authorized norms in destroying the article with a missile fired from an U.S. fighter jet.

“The actions don’t show that the U.S. is big and strong, but describe the exact opposite,” Wang stated.

Wang additionally accused the U.S. of denying China’s financial advances and in search of to impede its additional growth.

“What we hope for from the U.S. is a pragmatic and positive approach to China that allows us to work together,” Wang stated.

His feedback got here shortly earlier than an handle to the convention by Vice President Kamala Harris, who didn’t point out the balloon controversy or reply to Wang’s feedback. She harassed the significance of upholding the “international rules-based order.”

She stated Washington is “troubled that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the war began” in Ukraine and that “looking ahead, any steps by China to provide lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killing and further undermine a rules-based order.”

Lee reported from Washington.

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