China calls on America to avoid political manipulation and tarnish its image

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the United States cannot request communication and dialogue at a time when matters are escalating over the balloon incident, condemning in the same context the official exchanges and military relations between America and Taiwan.

"The United States needs to work with Beijing on the incident and restore relations to stability," said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, in a regular press briefing today, Friday, when he was asked about statements by US President Joe Biden, in which he said he would talk to President Xi Jinping about the Chinese balloon. .

"The US side should avoid political manipulation aimed at tarnishing China's image," said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

And on the Taiwan file, Beijing has made it clear that it strongly opposes official exchanges and military relations between Washington and Taipei, saying that "Taiwan is an internal affair of China and the United States should stop creating new tensions."

A new cold war

On Thursday, the US president said he planned to speak to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about the US Air Force shooting down what Washington said was a sophisticated Chinese spy balloon earlier this month.

"I hope to be able to speak to President Xi ... and that we discuss this issue in depth," Biden said in his first public remarks since the balloon was shot down on February 4.

While stressing that the United States "does not want a new cold war," Biden said he "did not apologize for bringing down this balloon."

"We will always work to protect the interests and security of the American people," he added.

The US President stated that there are no indications that the flying objects that were shot down in American airspace are linked to a Chinese spy program.

Biden reaffirmed that his country does not seek conflict with Beijing, but rather to manage competition with it responsibly, as he put it.

The United States is concerned since a large white Chinese balloon was spotted flying over a number of secret nuclear sites before it was shot down off the country's eastern coast.

As a result of this incident, the US military amended the criteria for controlling radar devices to enable them to detect smaller objects, which resulted in the detection of 3 additional unidentified flying objects that Biden ordered to be shot down in succession, one over Alaska, another over Canada, and the third over Lake Huron in Michigan.