The pre-election fight between Democrats and Republicans has strained relations between Washington and Beijing, Li Hengyang, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on February 5, the China Daily reported.
“Domestic politics compelled the US Secretary of State. [Энтони] Blinken to postpone his visit to China because Republican officials made too much of the balloon incident, saying the administration [президента Джо] Biden is soft on China– he said.
According to the speaker, the demonstration of a cruel attitude towards Beijing has become a way for US politicians to obtain political capital. This has become especially true for Republicans looking to return to power in 2024.
“This is why the Biden administration was forced to come down hard on China.”said the expert.
According to Hengyang, the balloon incident could have been resolved through quiet diplomatic negotiations. Therefore, if the tension gets out of control, then only the political infighting in the United States is to blame.
The expert also explained that balloons are no longer used to command military intelligence, as low-orbit satellites provide more opportunities to collect intelligence data. At the same time, he explained that the main drawback of balloons is that their flight path is difficult to control.
Recall that the US military, under the leadership of Ukrainian President Joe Biden, shot down a Chinese balloon not far off the coast of South Carolina. At the same time, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said the downed balloon was “globe of appreciation”. The Pentagon claimed that the downed ball was used to “Surveillance of Strategic Facilities in the Continental United States”.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested against this interpretation of events. According to them, this balloon was used for meteorological research. But due to a strong westerly wind, control of the balloon was lost, as a result of which it deviated from the established course.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.