According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Beijing is prepared to respond to Washington’s efforts to “spice up” the situation.
Wang Yi, a top Chinese official, said on the margins of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday that Washington’s use of force in shooting down a Chinese balloon amounted to nothing more than a “abuse of force.”
In a statement following the discussion, the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned that the US would suffer the “consequences” if it attempted to escalate tensions much further.
It added that since the US is “the number one country in terms of surveillance,” Washington is “in no position to disparage China” because America’s own “high-altitude balloons soared over China several times illegally,” according to the statement.
The US needs to “show sincerity” and address the matter rather than trying to “dramatise” it even more, the ministry said, adding that shooting down the balloon had only served to deteriorate relations between Washington and Beijing.
Beijing warned that any further dramatisation, exaggeration, or escalation “would be met in kind for as long as it takes,” adding that all costs “shall be borne by the US side.”
Wang Yi also chastised Washington for “fanning the flames” of the war in Ukraine and “profiting from the situation,” according to the Chinese ministry. The official added that China is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to such a problem, and that a major country like the US is expected to do the same.
Earlier this week, China shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that was in American airspace and slapped several Chinese companies with sanctions to criticise the US for its “overreaction” to the incident. Beijing also promised to retaliate by taking “countermeasures” against US firms, although it made no specific mention of how it may do this.
Chinese government representatives have asserted that the balloon that traversed North America earlier this month was an unmanned civilian airship that was accidentally blown off course and into US territory. It was brought down by a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. Then, the Joe Biden administration in the US asserted that the balloon was a component of a Chinese spy programme that purportedly had over 40 targets.
