Biden claims China’s spy balloon embarrassed Beijing

Joe Biden has downplayed the recent Chinese spy balloon that floated across the US as Antony Blinken headed for Beijing in an attempt to smooth over recent tensions.

In remarks to reporters on Saturday morning, the president suggested Chinese leaders may have been unaware of the spy balloon, which was shot down by US fighter jets in early February after flying across the country.

China has some legitimate problems unrelated to the United States. And I think one of the things that caused that balloon wasn’t so much that it got shot down, but I don’t think the leadership knew where it was and knew what was in it and knew what was going on,” Biden said.

“I think it was more embarrassing than intentional,” he added.

Amid frosty relations between DC and Beijing, Blinken will arrive in China on Saturday, four months after the balloon incident derailed plans for bilateral talks in Beijing.

The spy balloon, which U.S. officials say had rudimentary flight controls, passed over a number of U.S. nuclear missile facilities in late January and early February before being shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter off the coast of South Carolina.

With his visit to Beijing this weekend, Blinken becomes the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit China since Biden took office in January 2021.

During his June 18-19 trip, he is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping.

The US hopes to establish open and sustainable communication channels to ensure that the strategic rivalry between the two countries does not spiral into conflict.

Beijing has opposed such communication ‘hotlines’, believing they could encourage the US to take provocative actions

Blinken’s journey will also be closely followed by the rest of the world, as any escalation between superpowers could have global implications for everything from financial markets to trade routes and practices and global supply chains.

“It is recognized on both sides that we need high-level communication channels,” a senior State Department official told reporters during a refueling stop in Tokyo en route to Beijing.

“That we are at an important point in the relationship where I think we reduce the risk of miscalculation, or as our Chinese friends often say, stop the downward spiral in the relationship, is something that is important,” the official said.

The spy balloon, which US officials say had rudimentary flight controls, passed over a number of US nuclear missile facilities

The Chinese balloon soars into the sky over Billings, Montana, on Feb. 1

It was shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter off the coast of South Carolina on February 4

Navy sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 5

Ties between the countries have deteriorated across the board, raising fears that they may one day clash militarily over the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

They also disagree on issues such as trade, US efforts to hold back China’s semiconductor industry, and Beijing’s human rights record.

Particularly troubling for China’s neighbors is the reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington, despite repeated attempts by the US.

Speaking at a press conference Friday before leaving for Beijing, Blinken said the trip had three main purposes: to establish crisis management mechanisms, to advance US and allies’ interests and speak directly about related concerns, and to explore possible cooperation areas.

“If we want to make sure, as we do, that the competition we have with China doesn’t turn into conflict, then you have to start communicating,” Blinken said.

He said he would also raise the issue of US citizens being held in China on charges Washington considers politically motivated.

But US officials in a briefing meeting earlier this week looking ahead to the trip downplayed any expectations of much progress.

While Blinken’s main goal will be “candid, direct and constructive” discussions, the officials said, no breakthroughs are to be expected on key issues, including the flow of fentanyl precursors and Americans being detained in China.

With his visit to Beijing this weekend, Blinken becomes the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit China since Biden took office in January 2021.

But Blinken’s visit is expected to pave the way for more bilateral meetings in the coming months, including possible tours of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

It could also pave the way for meetings between Xi and Biden at multilateral summits later this year.

The meeting of Biden and Xi in Bali last November temporarily allayed fears of a new Cold War, but after the February flight of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over the United States that led Blinken to postpone a visit to Beijing that for that month was planned, high-level communication has been rare.

The US official also said that gaining China’s cooperation in containing the flow of fentanyl precursors will become a key item on the agenda.

The Chinese side is reluctant to cooperate on the matter, US officials have said.