“What I want to emphasize regarding this sudden accident is that both sides, especially the US, should keep calm,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning.
Song Aly | Reuters
BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning urged both sides to remain calm after the United States said it had shot down what it called a Chinese spy balloon.
“What I want to emphasize regarding this sudden accident is that both sides, especially the US, should keep calm,” Mao said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC.
She spoke at the ministry’s first daily press conference after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken indefinitely postponed a trip to Beijing following reports that a suspected Chinese spy balloon was flying over the US. .
Blinken was originally scheduled to visit Beijing on Sunday and Monday, although the US has provided some official details and the Chinese side has never confirmed the trip. U.S army shot down the balloon over the weekend.
China calls the balloon a “civilian unmanned airship” and says it mainly conducts weather research before being blown up.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao emphasized the random nature of the balloon’s flight path and said China had lost control of other similar vehicles, according to her question and answer session on Monday with reporters. pellets.
When asked who or what company made the balloon, Mao declined to share any details.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “revealed that we know that once the balloon is released to the public, China tries to maneuver hot air balloons leave the United States as soon as they can,” a Senate Democrat press release said Sunday.
Asked to confirm this detail, Mao said China’s liaison agency with the US “always works hard to handle things responsibly.”
She again said that the event was coincidental, but put the US to the test of how it can handle the crisis and stabilize US-China relations. Mao reiterated China’s call for “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation” in the bilateral relationship.
Plans for Blinken to visit Beijing were announced in November after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden had their first face-to-face meeting under the Biden administration.
News of the meeting and expectations that Blinken would visit Beijing raised hopes for more stability in the tense US-China relationship.
Before Blinken’s visit, US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Fifth that one goal of high-level dialogues with Beijing is to “responsible management” of the world’s “most consequential” bilateral relationship. Such negotiations, he added, are meant to ensure that “competition does not lead to conflict.”
