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| China's then foreign minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian island of Bali, July 9, 2022. AFP-Yonhap |
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Wang, a member of the Communist Party Central Committee's Politburo, told Blinken in a phone conversation late Friday that both nations had communicated on how to handle the latest controversy in a calm and professional manner.
"China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law. We do not accept any groundless speculation and hype," Wang was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry statement issued Saturday.
"In the face of unexpected situations, what both parties need to do is to maintain concentration, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments, and manage and control differences."
Blinken said Friday that he would postpone his trip to China, which had been scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
Amid reports of a Blinken-Xi meeting, the U.S. focused on avoiding danger
Blinken said he told Wang "that the presence of this surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace is a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law ... and that the PRC decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have."
Blinken said he planned to visit Beijing when conditions allowed and that the U.S. would continue to maintain lines of communication with China to address the balloon situation and other issues.
Pentagon officials said Thursday that the U.S. was tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been spotted over its airspace. They said it was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.
On Friday, as some U.S. lawmakers called for it to be shot down, the foreign ministry in Beijing said the balloon had accidentally strayed from its planned course into American airspace.
Describing the balloon as an "unmanned airship employed for civilian purposes," it said it was mainly used for meteorological research and had deviated far from its planned course because of strong westerly winds and its limited self-steering capability.
"The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure," a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
In a separate statement Saturday, the ministry said some U.S. politicians and media had used the incident to smear China, which was something China "resolutely opposed."
On the postponement of Blinken's trip, the statement said Beijing and Washington had not announced any visit by Blinken and that "the U.S. announcements are their own matter and we respect that."
Read the full story at SCMP
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