The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken met Saturday evening in Munich, Germany, the Chinese Wang Yi, with whom he had a “frank and direct” exchange at a time when relations between the United States and China were strained after the ball incident.
The Secretary of State took his Chinese counterpart to task, telling him that the incident of the balloon ultimately being shot down by the US military must “never happen again” and also warning him of the “implications and consequences” for China if it is found to be providing “material support” to Russia in its war in Ukraine or helping it evade Western sanctions, the State Department spokesman said, Ned Price, reporting on the interview.
The meeting, which was the subject of much speculation as the two senior diplomats are in Munich for the Security Conference, lasted around an hour away from the media and the exchange was “frank and direct”. , a senior State Department official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
In Beijing, the New China agency indicated, after the meeting, that Wang Yi had assured his American counterpart that relations between their two countries had been damaged by the American reaction.
Wang Yi “clearly expressed China’s solemn position on the so-called aircraft incident” and “urged the US side to change course, recognize and repair the damage its excessive use of force has caused.” caused to China-US relations,” the agency reported.
The balloon incident forced Mr. Blinken to postpone in extremis a rare trip to Beijing scheduled for early February, which was supposed to bring the two great rival powers together.
“The Secretary of State made it clear to him that the United States will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty and that China’s high-altitude surveillance balloon program has been exposed to the eyes of the world,” the carrier continued. American speech.
He, however, reiterated to Wang Yi that the United States does not seek “conflict” with China or a “new cold war” and that Washington intends to keep the lines of communication open with Beijing despite their rivalry.
“Hysteria”
Earlier Saturday, the head of Chinese diplomacy had however delivered a violent charge against Washington, denouncing its “hysterical” reaction to the flight of a balloon and its economic “protectionism”.
In front of an audience of international leaders and experts, Wang Yi drew up an indictment against the United States.
First target: the American reaction, deemed “absurd and hysterical” to the overflight of American territory by a Chinese balloon.
This aircraft, a spy balloon according to Washington, a “civilian” object assures Beijing, was shot down on February 4 by a plane from the American Air Force.
“There are a lot of balloons in the sky, from different countries. Do you want to shoot every one of them? This does not show that America is strong,” Wang Yi got carried away at the podium.
It was a simple weather research balloon that accidentally drifted into American airspace, repeated the head of diplomacy.
“We urge the United States not to do such absurd things just to divert attention from its domestic problems,” Wang Yi warned.
Wang Yi presented his country as a champion of “peace”, a word repeated around thirty times, and reiterated that Moscow and Kiev should “sit around the table and find” a “political” way out of the conflict.
The American vice-president, Kamala Harris, also present in Munich, questioned the neutrality displayed by China.
“Not the same mistake”
The United States is “troubled by the fact that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the beginning of the war”, she stressed.
“Any move by China to provide lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killings and further undermine a rules-based order,” the vice president warned.
The Europeans for their part, notably Germany and France, are still hoping to convince China to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin so that he puts an end to the war.
Paris had estimated Thursday that “the time for reconnection” with China, where French President Emmanuel Macron will soon visit, had come.
But between Washington and Beijing, there are many differences: imbalance in trade relations, the situation in Hong Kong, American relations with Taiwan, human rights and even technological rivalry.
It is on this last aspect that Wang Yi continued his charge, denouncing the American restrictions on the export of electronic chips.
These restrictions are “100%” “protectionism”, he said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, also present in Munich, on Saturday called on Westerners “not to make the same mistake with China” as with Russia, which has created energy ties with Europe. .