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Sometimes gifts just appear in the sky.
An alleged Chinese spy balloon seen floating about 11 miles above Montana this week could just be one for the Biden administration. Or it could make fraught bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing even worse.
The discovery of what the Pentagon labeled a «high altitude surveillance balloon» came at a crucial time in U.S.-China relations, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was preparing to make the first trip to China by a secretary of state in more than four years.
The administration on Friday postponed the visit, which was designed to build on a November agreement between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to deepen engagement and keep strained ties from worsening.
The balloon potentially increases the imperative for Beijing to do so.
«I don’t think the incident itself will improve bilateral relations, but if the Chinese prioritize engagement and improvement of ties, it would provide more incentive for them to deliver,» said Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think tank.
China-U.S. relations are at their worst point in decades, strained over numerous issues including microchips, human rights, tariffs and Taiwan. In recent weeks, though, observers say Beijing has softened its diplomatic rhetoric and sent what some interpret as signals of openness to thawing ties with the United States and other Western countries.Just a «civilian airship» off course
On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the balloon was theirs, but called it a «civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes,» that had gone off course. And the ministry expressed rare «regret» for the incident.
«The way they framed the response is a big step-down from their previous harsh rhetoric on the U.
