Senior officials from the U.S. and China traded accusations over the downed balloon in a tense and secret meeting Saturday between the countries’ top diplomats. The meeting took place in Munich, Germany, while both attended the Munich Security Conference.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s State Councilor Wang Yi discussed all issues including the balloon and Taiwan, North Korea and Russia in their first meeting since the U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon on February 4.
U.S. condemns balloon incursion
Blinken “directly spoke to the unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law” and said incidents like the balloon, which hovered over US airspace for days before the U.S. shot it down off the coast of South Carolina, “must never occur again,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken expressed “disappointment” that China’s military had stopped communicating and “refused to pick up the phone” with U.S. counterparts, the State Department official said. “We think that’s unfortunate and that’s not the way. The two sides should be conducting business.”
Washington cautioned Beijing against providing support to Russia
In a tweet on Saturday, Blinken said, “Just met with the PRC’s top diplomat, Wang Yi. I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again.” He continued: “I warned China against providing material support to Russia. I also emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication.”
In an interview with NBC News’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd,” Blinken said the US was very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia. “There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons,” Blinken said, adding that Washington would soon release more details.
Speaking to reporters, a senior State Department official said China was trying to “have it both ways” by claiming it wants to contribute to peace and stability but at the same time taking concerning steps to support Russia. Blinken “was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion,” the senior official said.
China opposes use of force
Wang Yi stated China’s position on the balloon incident, and urged the U.S. to resolve the damage to the relationship caused by “the indiscriminate use of force,” Xinhua said, a reference to the shooting down of the Chinese balloon.
Wang Yi “pointed out that what the US side has done was apparently an abuse of force and a violation of customary international practice and the International Civil Aviation Covenant. China deplores it and strongly protests it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on February 20. “The US itself is the number one country in conducting surveillance worldwide, whose high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China multiple times. The US is in no position to smear China.
While urging the U.S. side to show sincerity, and repair the damage, Chinese side warned that “If the US side continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the unintended and isolated incident, it should not expect the Chinese side to flinch. The US side should be prepared to bear all consequences arising from an escalation.”
Ukraine and China-Russia ties
On the Ukraine issue, Wang underscored that China has been playing a “constructive role” by adhering to principles and promoting peace talks. He said that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, which is based on non-alliance, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party, which is within the sovereign right of any two independent states.
“We have never accepted any moralizing, coercing or pressure on China-Russia relations from the United States,” said Wang. “The U.S., as a major country, has every reason to work for a political settlement of the crisis instead of fanning the flames or profiting from it.”
Wang Yi, who has visited France and Italy this week, is expected to visit Russia after the Munich conference.
