China said on Friday that it is verifying US information according to which an alleged spy balloon of its property was detected flying over the United States and Canada, and called “not to exaggerate” the matter.
“A verification is being carried out,” a woman told reporters. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ningadding that “until the facts are clear, making conjectures and exaggerating the issue will not help to resolve it properly,” AFP reported.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that guarding a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was seen over US airspace for a couple of days, a discovery that comes at a time of high tension in relations between both powers.
At the request of President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense considered shooting down the aircraft, but decided not to do so due to the potential risks to people on the ground, a Pentagon official said.
“Clearly, the intention of this balloon is surveillance, and the current flight path takes it to a number of sensitive sites,” the US official said, according to CNN television and the AFP and Sputnik news agencies.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman also said she had no information on whether a US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijingplanned for next week, will take place as scheduled.
Speaking to reporters, Mao said politicians and the public should refrain from judging “before we have a clear understanding of the facts” about the spy balloon reports.
Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, arriving amid diplomatic efforts by both countries to mitigate a high deterioration that It affects relations between the two giants due to trade bids, US complaints of human rights violations in China and the situation in Taiwanamong other issues.
