Mao reiterated China’s contention that the balloon was intended for meteorological research and had been blown off course accidentally.
“The US should have handled it in a calm and professional manner,” she said. “However, the US distorted facts and used forces to hype up the incident, fully revealing its nature of bullying and hegemony.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People on Monday.Credit: AP
Blinken’s visit had been originally scheduled for February but was put on hold after the balloon incident. While it marked a return to high-level contact between the sides, China continues to refuse talks between their militaries.
In recent days, the US says Chinese warplanes and naval ships have maneuvered in threatening ways to their US counterparts in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, despite agreements between them on protocols for avoiding such incidents.
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During Blinken’s visit, China reiterated its strong objections to US support for the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. The US has also sought to block Beijing’s access to cutting-edge computer chip manufacturing technology that could be used for military purposes, and accused China of stealing American intellectual property.
After meeting with Xi on Monday, Blinken acknowledged entrenched differences. “We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship. There are many issues on which we profoundly, even vehemently, disagree,” he said.
AP
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