BEIJING (Dispatches) – China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Saturday that the U.S. handling of the balloon incident had been “unimaginable” and “hysterical”, and an “absurd” act that violated international norms.
“There are so many balloons all over the world, so is the United States going to shoot all of them down?,” Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at the Munich Security Conference, Reuters reported.
“It does not show the U.S. is strong; on the contrary, it shows it is weak,” he said, adding that the shooting down was part of an attempt to divert attention from the domestic problems of the administration of President Joe Biden.
A Chinese balloon spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before being shot down off the Atlantic Coast earlier this month on Biden’s orders.
“We ask the U.S. to show its sincerity and correct its mistakes, face up and resolve this incident, which has damaged Sino-U.S. relations,” Wang said, when asked by the conference’s moderator if he would engage with US delegates present to restore Sino-U.S. dialogue to a more normal track.
“We hope the U.S. could pursue a pragmatic and positive policy towards China, and work with China to push Sino-U.S. relations back to the track of healthy development,” he added
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has weighed meeting with Wang on the sidelines of the Munich conference, but there has been no confirmed meeting as of early Saturday.
The development comes as tensions are rising between China and the U.S. as well as its Western allies over several issues, including Washington’s interference in Taiwan.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has reiterated Beijing’s firm opposition to any kind of official interactions and military ties between the United States and Taiwan.
Wang Wenbin made the comments as the Pentagon’s top China official, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Chase, arrived in Taipei for a visit.
Wang said the Pentagon should cut off military contact with Taiwan in order to prevent another escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
“We insist that the United States put an end to official interaction with Taiwan, cut off all forms of military contact, stop interfering in the Taiwan issue and creating factors leading to another escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Stressing that Washington needs to respect the “One China” principle and Chinese-U.S. agreements, the spokesman added, “We strongly oppose official contact between the United States and Taiwan. China’s position on the matter is clear and consistent.”
Chase’s visit to Taiwan is the first trip to the self-ruled island by a high-ranking Pentagon official in the past four years. In 2019, then US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck made a visit to Taipei.