“China always strictly abides by international law,” said a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Relations are strained between Beijing and Washington. This Saturday, the Chinese authorities considered that the controversial overflight in the United States of a Chinese observation balloon served as a pretext to “defame” China.
“Some American politicians and media are using the incident as a pretext to attack and defame China,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
And the press release to continue. “China always strictly abides by international law (…) and has never violated the territory and airspace of a sovereign country”, can we read.
Rescheduled visit
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it had detected a large aerostat over the United States, and assured that it had no doubts about its Chinese origin and its use for espionage purposes. The Chinese authorities, who evoke an “involuntary” intrusion, expressed their “regrets”.
In view of this affair which is causing a stir in the United States, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken has postponed a rare visit planned to Beijing, supposed to ease tensions with the Chinese rival.
The visit of the latter, initially scheduled for Sunday and Monday, is “postponed” and will be rescheduled when “the conditions are met”, according to a senior official of the Secretariat of State on condition of anonymity.
“In reality, neither China nor the United States had (officially) announced a visit,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. “The release of information (related to this visit) is the sole decision of the United States,” he added.
