The US shot down the balloon with an infrared-guided air-to-air missile from an F-22 fighter jet.
(Photo: dpa)
Denver, Beijing, Berlin Right at the beginning of his term in office, US President Joe Biden promised to stabilize relations with China. The democrat wanted to work pragmatically with Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to Beijing this Sunday should have further eased the tense relationship. But after the US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been flying over American territory for days on Saturday, the relationship is threatened with a new low. In any case, Blinken’s trip to China has been canceled for the time being, and there is no new date yet.
The State Department in Beijing condemned the shooting down of the balloon by a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina as “clear overreaction”. Beijing also said the object was a civilian research balloon that accidentally drifted off.
The country reserves the right to take further steps if necessary. This is also causing concerns in Europe that the conflict will escalate.
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