US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Wang Yi, head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee), on the sidelines of the 59th Munich Security Conference. About this on Saturday, February 18, reported at the State Department.
“The Secretary of State expressly pointed out the unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law by a PRC high-altitude observation balloon in US territorial airspace,” the statement said.
Blinken stressed in the conversation that Washington will not tolerate a violation of its sovereignty under any circumstances.
Representatives of Washington and Beijing discussed bilateral relations, as well as the Ukrainian conflict, the launch of a Chinese ballistic missile and the situation in Taiwan.
In particular, the representative of the American side warned that the United States will not tolerate material assistance from China to Russia and any ways to evade international sanctions against Moscow.
In addition, Blinken recalled Washington’s commitment to the “one China” policy towards Taiwan.
“The Secretary reaffirmed that the long-standing US “one China” policy has not changed, and stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the State Department said.
It is noted that the meeting was not listed in Blinken’s official work schedule.
Earlier in the day, Wang Yi, during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, said that the US destruction of the Chinese balloon showed their weakness, not strength. In his opinion, the American authorities behaved “absurdly and hysterically.”
At the same time, on February 16, Deputy Head of the Press Service of the US State Department, Vedant Patel, said that at the moment Washington is not planning any diplomatic contacts with Beijing.
On the same day, US President Joe Biden, during his address to the nation, commented on the incident with a Chinese balloon in the sky over the United States. The American leader stressed that the apparatus had nothing to do with Chinese intelligence. Biden added that he plans to have a talk with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the near future.
On February 15, First Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said that dialogue with Beijing is very important for Washington. She stressed that the US should speak to China when its actions are contrary to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On February 5, Beijing made a serious presentation to Washington in connection with the incident. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the incident damaged relations between the two countries.
On the night of February 3, a huge balloon was seen in the sky over American territory. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that the balloon flew from China, but stressed that it was a civilian apparatus for scientific research, which ended up there unintentionally.
Amid the Chinese balloon incident, Anthony Blinken has postponed his visit to China indefinitely. In response, the Chinese authorities said that they do not accept unfounded speculation and hype due to the situation with an unidentified vehicle.
