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China’s top diplomat urges US to ‘avoid misjudgment’ after Blinken postpones visit to Beijing over balloon controversy
- Wang Yi tells US secretary of state both sides need to ‘manage and control differences’
- Blinken calls surveillance balloon’s presence in US airspace ‘a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’
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China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has called for speculation and misjudgment to be avoided after an “accidental incident” – the detection of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States – led to the postponement of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China.
Wang, a member of the Communist Party Central Committee’s Politburo, told Blinken in a phone conversation late on 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 on 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 on Friday that he would postpone his trip to China, which had been scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
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