China-US Relations: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference amid tensions between the two nations over the balloon gate. The meeting took place at an undisclosed location for around an hour, reported AFP citing a senior State Department official. 


The two countries warned each other over Washington downing a Chinese balloon earlier this month which flew over several strategically important locations in the US. Blinken also hit out at Beijing for aiding Russia in the war against Ukraine. 


The Balloon Saga Controversy 


Days after the US downed a Chinese balloon suspecting it to be a ‘surveillance’ object and Blinken cancelled his rare visit to Beijing, the US warned China to not repeat its ‘irresponsible act’ of sending a ‘spy’ balloon into American airspace, reported AFP. 


Blinken "directly spoke to the unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law by (China's) high-altitude surveillance balloon in US territorial airspace, underscoring that this irresponsible act must never again occur", State Department spokesman Ned Price said, as quoted by AFP. 


"The Secretary made clear the United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty," he added. 


Blinken was "very direct and candid" during the talks, which lasted around an hour, according to a senior State Department official. 


Reacting to the warnings, China’s Wang Yi condemned the US reaction to the balloon as "hysterical and absurd". He said, "There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?". 


Notably, Beijing earlier denied having sent a ‘spy’ balloon stating that the large white balloon was for weather monitoring purposes. 


Wang told Blinken that their countries' relations had been damaged by how Washington’s shooting down of the balloon, AFP mentioned. 


Wang "made clear China's solemn position on the so-called airship incident", and "urged the US side to change course, acknowledge and repair the damage that its excessive use of force caused to China-US relations," AFP cited Chinese state news agency Xinhua. 


In strong remarks against Washington, Wang said President Joe Biden's administration had a "misguided" perception of Beijing. He went on to accuse the United States of trying to "smear" the Asian nation while Washington itself was implementing policies that ran counter to its paradigms, such as free trade. 


He said, "We urge the United States not to do such preposterous things simply to divert attention from its own domestic problems." 


"This is a misguided perception of China, and with this perception, the United States is using all of its means to smear and clamp down on China and is co-opting other countries to do the same," Wang added. 


US On Beijing’s Help To Moscow 


Antony Blinken also raised the matter of China’s aid to Moscow in the war against Ukraine during his encounter with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday. 


Spokesperson Ned Price said that Blinken warned Wang "about the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion." 


Blinken was "very direct and candid" during the talks, which lasted around an hour, Price said adding that Blinken was "quite blunt" as they spoke about Russia. 


According to Reuters, Blinken told in an interview that the United States was very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia and that he made clear to Wang that "would have serious consequences in our relationship." 


"There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons," Blinken added. 


Speaking to reporters in a briefing call, a senior State Department official said China was trying to "have it both ways" by claiming it wants to contribute to peace and stability but at the same time taking "concerning" steps to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 


"(The) secretary was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion," the senior official said. 


Notably, the West has been concerned about China's response to the Ukraine war, with some warning that a Russian victory would suggest China's actions toward Taiwan. China has so far refrained from condemning the war or calling it an "invasion." 


Earlier, speaking at a panel at the conference, Wang reiterated a call for dialogue and suggested European countries "think calmly" about how to end the war, reported Reuters. 


He added that there were "some forces that seemingly don't want negotiations to succeed, or for the war to end soon," without naming anyone.