Although China has explained clearly and unambiguously the balloon spotted in the US is a civilian vessel designed for meteorological use and its entry to the US was unintended, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken still cited it as an excuse to postpone his planned visit to China.
Editor's note: Pentagon has said it is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been spotted over the country's airspace in recent days. Four experts shared their views on the incident with China Daily. Excerpts follow:
The House of Representatives of the United States recently established a select committee on strategic competition with China to tackle the alleged "multifaceted threats" of China to the US.Although the committee's functions are limited to investigation and policy recommendations, its establishment has sent a clear political signal that the US is launching a new Cold War against China.
The United Kingdom and Japan signed a "landmark" defence agreement on Wednesday that will allow the forces' deployments on a larger and more complex scale
In a statement on its official website on Monday, the ministry said Qin bid farewell to Blinken during the call, while added that he looked forward to maintaining close working ties with Blinken and promoting Sino-U.S. relations. Qin, 56, replaces Wang Yi, who had been foreign minister for the past decade.