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Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday she doesn’t believe that this month’s Chinese spy balloon fiasco should harm diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing, echoing a conciliatory statement by President Biden last week.
“I don’t think so, no,” the veep told Politico when asked if the surveillance device — which was shot down by a US Air Force fighter jet on Feb. 4 off South Carolina — would change the US relationship with China.
Harris added that the White House wants “competition, but not conflict or confrontation” with the Asian power, adding that she used the same words to Chinese President Xi Jinping when they spoke at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Thailand this past November.
“Everything that has happened in the last week and a half is, we believe, very consistent with our stated approach,” the VP said.
The balloon was equipped with antennas capable of collecting communications signals and other intelligence-gathering materials, according to the State Department.
