Chinese Official Calls U.S. Response To Spy Balloon ‘Hysterical’

Topline

Wang Yi—the Chinese Communist Party’s top foreign policy official—criticized the U.S. Saturday for its handling of the Chinese spy balloon and noted the incident was “absurd and hysterical,” as relations between the two countries continue to sour two weeks after the object was shot down over the ocean near South Carolina.

Key Facts

Yi, who responded to questions at the Munich Security Conference Saturday, said a decision by the U.S. to shoot down the Chinese balloon and three other objects was “unbelievable,” adding the effort was meant to “divert attention from its domestic problems.”

Yi declined to comment about whether he would meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken—who delayed a visit to China earlier this month—during the conference, according to Reuters—though a U.S. official told NPR that they would meet before Blinken departed on Sunday.

Both China’s foreign ministry and Yi said the balloon was a civilian craft used for scientific research and flew off course, claims that the U.S. has disputed after alleging the balloon “was clearly for intelligence surveillance,” according to the New York Times.

The Chinese government, which claims the U.S. has illegally flown high-altitude balloons over China’s airspace “on many occasions,” previously stated it would take unspecified “countermeasures” in response to the incident.

Surprising Fact

The U.S. military has ended its search for objects shot down on Alaska and Lake Huron after it failed to find any debris, according to U.S. Northern Command. The announcement follows recovery operations for the debris of the Chinese spy balloon, which has since been transferred to the FBI for “counterintelligence exploitation.”

Key Background

The 200-foot surveillance balloon flew over the U.S. in early February, floating across Alaska, Montana, and the midwest for three days before it was shot down near the South Carolina Coast. A decision by President Joe Biden to shoot the object down has since resulted in a fallout between the U.S. and China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a briefing that the Chinese government was “firmly opposed” to the balloon being shot down, according to Bloomberg, as China has called for the U.S. to return remnants of the balloon. The U.S. has issued sanctions against six Chinese tech and aviation companies while passing a House resolution that formally condemned the Chinese government for deploying the balloon. In response, China announced sanctions against security firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies for arms sales to Taiwan—a decision that the White House called “symbolic measures and unnecessary.”

Further Reading

U.S. Completes Recovery Of Chinese Spy Balloon Debris—FBI To Analyze (Forbes)

China Threatens Retaliation Against U.S. For Downing Surveillance Balloon (Forbes)

House Condemns Chinese Surveillance Balloon (Forbes)