Blinken, China’s Top Diplomat Hold Tense First Meeting Since Balloon Incident
WSJ
Senior officials from the U.S. and China traded accusations over the downed Chinese balloon in a tense atmosphere of public speeches and a secret meeting Saturday between the countries’ top diplomats.
Wang Yi, China’s most senior foreign-policy official, used a morning speech at the Munich Security Conference to criticize the “nearly hysterical” reaction of Washington to the appearance of its balloon over U.S. territory.
‘We are advocating for peace talks,’ China’s Wang Yi said at the Munich Security Conference, referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine.PHOTO: PETR DAVID JOSEK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China against helping Russia in its war in Ukraine in front of a broad audience of diplomats and military officers at the conference.
In the evening, Messrs. Blinken and Wang sat down for an hourlong meeting that wasn’t publicly scheduled, and Mr. Blinken told his counterpart that China’s surveillance balloon program “has been exposed to the world,” according to the State Department.
“The secretary directly spoke to the unacceptable violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law by the PRC high-altitude surveillance balloon in U.S. territorial airspace, underscoring that this irresponsible act must never again occur,” spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting in Munich was intended to restore high-level communications with Beijing, part of the Biden administration’s effort to put a “floor” on deteriorating relations between the two countries after the balloon incident and the visit last year to Taiwan of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Header featured image (edited) credit: Wang Yi/Antony Blinken/Stefani Reynolds/Pool via Reuters
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