U.S.-China relations clash with balloon incident
An incident involving a Chinese balloon in U.S. airspace that was shot down by the U.S. military could have a negative impact on Washington’s initially uneasy relationship with Beijing. It was reported by the newspaper Politico.
The authors of the article cited former U.S. Defense Department official Lyle Morris, who noted a sharp drop in trust in Sino-U.S. relations amid recent events and added that espionage by Beijing had never been so obvious and overt.
“This incident stunned the United States – literally – because the continuous coverage of the balloon’s presence in American airspace and its elimination on live television convinced many of the reality of the Chinese threat,” the reporters concluded.
Nevertheless, they said, it is premature to talk about the collapse of bilateral ties, particularly because the interdependence between China and the United States is still very strong. President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping know exactly what they are dealing with and are trying their best to ease the tensions.
Finally, observers recalled that China and the United States have quite a history of contacting each other after acute situations. For example, the countries did not stop cooperating in the face of the NATO strike on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, were able to reach an understanding after the collision between Chinese and U.S. aircrafts near Hainan Island and still maintain a dialogue despite the controversy related to Taiwan.