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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Friday with Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi to convey that he will not be traveling to the People’s Republic of China at this time in light of the current presence of a high-altitude PRC surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace. This is noted in a US Department of State readout  attributable to Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

“The Secretary relayed that he had planned to visit Beijing to follow up on the agenda agreed to by President Biden and President Xi in November in Bali. The Secretary noted the PRC’s statement of regret but conveyed that this is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip,” the readout added, in particular.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson delivered remarks on the cancelation of the aforesaid trip.

“Regarding the unintended entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace due to force majeure, the Chinese side has verified it and communicated it to the US side. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. This is entirely an unexpected situation caused by force majeure and the facts are very clear. China always acts in strict accordance with international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” the Chinese MFA spokesperson noted.

“We have no intention to violate and has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country. Some politicians and media in the US have hyped it up to attack and smear China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson added, in part.

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