Blinken Postpones China Journey Following Balloon Discovery

BEIJING (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a deliberate high-stakes weekend diplomatic journey to China because the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the invention of a high-altitude Chinese language balloon flying over delicate websites within the western United States, a U.S. official mentioned Friday.

The abrupt determination comes regardless of China’s declare that the balloon was a climate analysis satellite tv for pc that had blown off beam. The U.S. has described it as a surveillance satellite tv for pc.

The choice got here simply hours earlier than Blinken had been on account of depart Washington for Beijing and marked a brand new blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese language relations. Officers mentioned Blinken and President Joe Biden decided it was finest to not proceed with the journey presently.