Array
President Biden made excuses for China Saturday, saying that President Xi Jinping never meant to fly a spy balloon over sensitive American military sites earlier this year.
“I don’t think the leadership knew where it was, and knew what was in it, and knew what was going on,” Biden told reporters as he headed to Philadelphia for his first campaign rally of the 2024 election. “I think it was more embarrassing than it was intentional.”
The conciliatory comments came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued a two-day visit to Beijing, his first diplomatic trip there since he called off a planned trip as the balloon made its uncontested three-day journey across US airspace.
“I’m hoping that over the next several months I’ll be meeting with Xi again, and talking about legitimate differences we have but also how … to get along,” Biden added.
