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Beijing was angered by US President Joe Biden’s comments that Chinese President Xi Jinping was facing big problems. Photo/REUTERS
BEIJING – Beijing was angry and condemned the President’s comments United States of America (USA) Joe Biden that President China Xi Jinping is facing a big problem.
The latest rhetorical salvo between Washington and Beijing comes after an American F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet shot down a Chinese balloon last week, which Washington says is part of Beijing’s spy fleet spanning five continents.
The Chinese government said Thursday that it had rejected an offer to talk to the US defense chief over the phone because of Washington’s “irresponsible” decision to shoot down a balloon that the US described as a spy vehicle.
“This irresponsible and grossly wrong approach by the US does not create the right atmosphere for dialogue and exchanges between the two militaries,” China’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, as quoted by AFP.
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Tensions between the two countries briefly eased after the G-20 meeting last November between Biden and Xi Jinping. But US-China tensions are heating up again, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week canceling a visit to Beijing because Chinese balloons flew over the American mainland.
The US accuses the Chinese balloon at very high altitude, which directly crossed at least one sensitive US military site, of intent to espionage.
China angrily denied the claim, arguing it was a weather observation plane that had gone wrong.
On Wednesday, Washington said the balloons were part of a “spy fleet”, adding that they had been sighted around the world for several years and urging allies to increase vigilance.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour the same day, Biden defended the decision to shoot down the China balloon and emphasized that the US does not seek conflict with China.
