MUNICH: China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday blasted the US reaction to what Washington has called a Chinese spy balloon as “hysterical and absurd”, in uncharacteristically strong remarks against the top Western power.
Addressing a gathering of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Wang said President Joe Biden’s administration has a “misguided” perception of Beijing. And he accused the United States of trying to “smear” the Asian giant while it itself was implementing policies that ran counter to its paradigms such as free trade. “There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?” Wang asked. “We urge the United States not to do such preposterous things simply to divert attention from its own domestic problems.”
Washington has been in a state of alarm since a huge white balloon from China was spotted over a series of top secret nuclear weapons sites, before being shot down just off the east coast on February 4.
Addressing a gathering of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Wang said President Joe Biden’s administration has a “misguided” perception of Beijing. And he accused the United States of trying to “smear” the Asian giant while it itself was implementing policies that ran counter to its paradigms such as free trade. “There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?” Wang asked. “We urge the United States not to do such preposterous things simply to divert attention from its own domestic problems.”
Washington has been in a state of alarm since a huge white balloon from China was spotted over a series of top secret nuclear weapons sites, before being shot down just off the east coast on February 4.