US-China Relations Deteriorate Further as Secretary of State Blinken Postpones Trip to China Following Suspected Surveillance Balloon Incident

The United States and China are facing a new diplomatic crisis after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted in the skies over the continental United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called the incident an “irresponsible act” and China has expressed “regret” for the “unintended entry” into US airspace.

In response to the incident, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his highly anticipated trip to China. He said the balloon’s presence “created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip” and that the decision to postpone it had defeated what would have been a “huge propaganda win” for Beijing.

Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, D.C., think tank, told NBC News Saturday that the incident “reinforces concerns that most Western nations justifiably harbor about China’s great power ambitions.”

The incident has added to already tense Washington-Beijing relations and has undermined efforts to repair them. It is unclear when Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China will be rescheduled. In the meantime, the U.S. and China are expected to continue to monitor the situation closely.