The actions of the US authorities in the situation with the Chinese balloon are “close to hysteria” and are “abuse of force.” This was stated on Saturday, February 18, by the head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) Wang Yi after speaking at the 59th Munich Security Conference.
He pointed out that China had already informed the American side that this balloon was civilian, it had limited control capabilities, therefore, due to the influence of the winds, it deviated from the assigned route and accidentally entered US airspace.
However, as the head of the office noted, the leadership of the United States ignored these facts, “sending fighters to shoot down a non-threatening balloon.”
“The American side, ignoring the facts, has abused military force. The US overreacted by making a big fuss. Such prehysterical actions indicate that Washington is guided by prejudices and ignorance towards China, which have already been brought to the stage of absurdity,” Wang Yi said.
According to him, this incident “led to turmoil in Sino-US relations.”
The politician also pointed out that the United States behaved this way because the White House has long considered China as a rival country, constantly trying to denigrate its image, and also calls it a “serious geopolitical challenge.”
“The underlying reason lies in Washington’s misperception and strategic misjudgment of Beijing,” Wang Yi explained, adding that China, on the contrary, takes a clear and transparent position towards the United States, trying to build relations on the principles of mutually beneficial cooperation and peaceful coexistence.
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.
The next day it became known that the object was shot down off the east coast of the country on the orders of US President Joe Biden. After that, on February 5, in connection with the incident, a serious presentation was made by Beijing to Washington. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said the incident damaged relations between the two countries.
Following this, on February 14, White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby emphasized that Washington does not seek conflict with Beijing in the wake of the downed balloon incident. He noted that the United States intends to keep channels of communication with China open.
