Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: POOL / GETTY IMAGES ASIAPAC / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP 17:05 p.m., May 21, 2023

On the sidelines of the G7 summit, which ended on Sunday, US President Joe Biden said that relations between Washington and Beijing should experience a "thaw very soon", after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy ball this year.

US President Joe Biden said Sunday that relations between Washington and Beijing should see a "thaw very soon", after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy ball this year. Biden said relations had deteriorated in the months since his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali in November.

Washington's decision in February to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that allegedly flew over the United States sparked a diplomatic row between the two powers. A visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which had been heralded as an opportunity to improve relations, was cancelled after the balloon incident. At a press conference Sunday after the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Joe Biden was asked why the direct line of communication between the United States and China was not operational.

"That stupid balloon"

"You're right, we should have an open hotline. At the Bali conference, this is what President Xi and I agreed to do and meet," he said. "And then this stupid balloon" carrying "spy equipment" "flew over the United States," Biden added. "He was shot and everything changed in terms of dialogue. I think you're going to see the beginning of a thaw very soon."

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The Biden administration has also infuriated China by cracking down on the trade in semiconductors, which Washington says carry risks of military use. The US president defended those actions on Sunday, a day after the G7 warned China against its "militarization activities" in the region. "China is developing its military, and that's why I've made it clear that I'm not ready to trade on certain items with it," he said.

"We have obtained a commitment from all our allies that they will not do it either, that they will not provide this type of equipment. But it's not a hostile act, it's an act that says, 'We're going to make sure we're doing everything in our power to maintain the status quo.'"