China unwilling to reschedule Blinken’s Beijing visit, concerned about investigation into spy balloon

The FBI's probe into the crashed alleged Chinese spy balloon has raised worries in China and because of this it is refusing to let US secretary of state Antony Blinken visit Beijing, reported Financial Times citing sources familiar with the discussions. 

Four persons involved with the discussions claimed that China had informed the US that it was unwilling to reschedule a trip that Blinken had postponed in February, reported Financial Times.

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In February, Blinken was scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping in China but unexpectedly postponed his trip because of the balloon saga. FBI has been examining the debris that was recovered from it. There are conflicting stances from both sides. China claims it was a weather balloon that went off track, contrary to the US's claim that the device was eavesdropping on secret military facilities.

Chinese authorities are worried that the FBI investigation and tangible evidence from the balloon would be released by the Biden administration, and that the study's conclusions might be made known during Blinken's visit to China.

According to three persons with knowledge of the discussion, Qin Gang, China's foreign minister, brought up the subject with Americans attending the China Development Forum in Beijing last month. One source said Qin cited the FBI probe as another problem that made it challenging to normalise US-China relations.

US authorities emphasise that China's balloon flight across its airspace is what started the situation. Inquiries about whether the probe will be made public were refused by the FBI and National Security Council.

The matter has also prompted disagreements inside the Biden administration, with some officials wishing to declassify the information to demonstrate that the balloon was spying. Additionally, the FBI's findings are likely to be released under pressure from Congress.

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Others, however, contend that revealing the material would thwart efforts to relaunch the countries' much-needed high-level interaction. Beijing's approach, according to Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund, indicated its worries about how the US might utilise the incident going forward.

“Beijing is distrustful of US intent and worries the US will use the information gleaned from the balloon investigation in ways harmful to Chinese interests,” Glaser said.

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On visit plans to China, Blinken told FT that it is “important to maintain channels of communication” with China to make sure both sides were “speaking to each other clearly”.

“When it comes to my own visit to China, when the conditions are right I’ll certainly look forward to pursuing that." 

 

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