MUNICH — Top diplomats from the United States and China met on Saturday in the first high-level contact between their countries since the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon two weeks ago, the 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 top foreign policy official, held hour-long talks in Munich, where they were attending an international security conference, according to the US State Department.
“I made it very clear to him that China sending its surveillance balloon over the United States in violation of our sovereignty, in violation of international law, was unacceptable and must never happen again,” Blinken said Saturday in an interview for CBS “Face the Nation.”
His spokesman, Ned Price, said in a statement that Blinken also told the Chinese official that his country’s “high-altitude surveillance balloon program – which has penetrated the airspace of more than 40 countries over the five continents – was exposed to the world”.
Blinken had canceled a trip to Beijing earlier this month due to the balloon incident, which has become a major point of contention between the two countries. A meeting at the conference in Germany had been widely anticipated.
Blinken also told Wang that the United States does not seek conflict with China, repeating a standard talking point the Biden administration has provided since taking office.
“The United States will compete and shamelessly defend our values and interests, but we don’t want a conflict with the PRC and are not looking for a new Cold War,” Price said. Blinken “stressed the importance of maintaining diplomatic dialogue and open lines of communication at all times.”
In addition to the balloon incident, Price said Blinken reiterated a warning to China about providing assistance to Russia to help it in its war against Ukraine, including helping Moscow evade the sanctions that the West has imposed on Russia.
“I warned China against providing material support to Russia,” Blinken said in a tweet. “I also stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open.”
Earlier on Saturday, Wang had renewed Beijing’s criticism of the United States for bringing down the ball, arguing that the move did not indicate US strength.
Beijing insists the white orb shot down off the coast of Carolina on February 4 was just an errant civilian airship used primarily for weather research that derailed due to winds and only had limited capabilities limited “self-direction”.
Wang, the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, repeated the insistence in a speech at the conference and accused the United States of violating international legal norms by destroying the object with a missile fired from an airplane. American fighter.
“The actions do not show that the United States is big and strong, but portray the exact opposite,” Wang said.
Wang also accused the United States of denying China’s economic advances and seeking to hinder its further development.
“What we hope for from the United States is a pragmatic and positive approach from China that allows us to work together,” Wang said.
His comments came shortly before a keynote address by Vice President Kamala Harris, who did not mention the balloon controversy or respond to Wang’s comments. She stressed the importance of maintaining the “rules-based international order”.
She said Washington was “troubled that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the start of the war” in Ukraine and that “looking forward, any action by China to provide deadly support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killings and further undermine the rules”. – command based on.
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