Biden: ‘Foolish balloon’ responsible for deflating relationship with China
Biden says ‘silly balloon’ was responsible for deflating US relationship with China but predicted ‘thaw’ coming soon
- President Joe Biden blames the spy balloon incident on the deflation of relations with China
- At his press conference in Hiroshima, Biden said “this silly balloon” was shot down and “changed everything about talking to each other”
- He added: ‘I think you’ll see it start to thaw very quickly’
President Joe Biden blames the spy balloon incident on the deflation of relations with China, but predicted during his press conference in Hiroshima on Sunday evening that they would soon improve.
The president agreed that the US and China should have an “open hotline,” adding that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during their meeting in Bali last fall.
“And then this silly balloon with two boxcars of spy equipment flew over the United States and got shot down and everything changed in terms of talking to each other,” Biden told reporters.
He added, “I think you’ll see it start to thaw very quickly.”
Biden also explained in simple terms the G7 countries’ view of China: “We have no intention of disengaging from China. We want to narrow and diversify our relationship with China,” he said.
President Joe Biden blamed the spy balloon incident for deflating relations with China, but predicted they would soon get better during his press conference in Hiroshima Sunday night.
A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the United States on Feb. 3
He spoke of this in terms of supply chains, with the US looking to reduce its dependency on China and other countries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden reiterated that the US still adheres to the “one China” policy in terms of relations with Taiwan.
And he also stressed that he did not believe there would necessarily be a confrontation between China and the US and its allies.
“I don’t think there is anything inevitable about the idea that there will be conflict between the United States and the West and/or Japan and Korea and the Quad,” Biden said.
The saga of the Chinese spy balloon captured the nation’s attention for a few days in late January and February.
The balloon hovered over most of the continental US before Biden ordered it shot down over water the Air Force sends an F-22 fighter jet armed with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to get the job done.
Republican foes barked at Biden for not shooting him fast enough, while the White House claimed the size of the balloon’s package — equivalent to the size of a jet plane — made the Pentagon wary of shooting him overland .
China would be a central issue at this year’s G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan and at the center of the Quad Summit, which was to take place in Sydney, Australia, later this week.
But the president’s domestic problems – the ongoing debt crisis – led him to announce that the trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea would be cancelled.
Quad leaders – those from Australia, Japan, India and the US – instead met on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima on Saturday night.
In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s surprising personal appearance at the summit turned much of the conversation on the war in Ukraine.