Joe Biden has been chastised for his lackluster response to the probable Chinese spy balloon flying over the northern United States.
Despite the revelation, Biden’s Secretary of State was reportedly planned a weekend travel to China to meet with President Xi.
Something must have changed since then, for Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his planned trip indefinitely.
For days, the purported spy balloon has been front-page news, with President Donald Trump even weighing in on what should be done about it.
With their response, the Biden Administration has been accused of making America look weak.
BREAKING NEWS: After Chinese balloon enters US airspace, Biden secretary of state postpones trip to Chinahttps://t.co/o7cWMEbSlt
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 3, 2023
Blinken’s planned trip has been canceled, according to Fox News:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has indefinitely postponed his trip to China following the controversy over a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon detected over the northern United States.
Officials said Friday that Blinken’s trip, which was never officially announced, has been indefinitely postponed.
Blinken was to travel to Beijing this weekend to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war with Chinese officials and meet with President Xi, White House National Security Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said.
Other News Sites Have Been Posting About It as Well:
JUST IN: Blinken postpones China trip following balloon discovery https://t.co/Hs6VjRsL58 pic.twitter.com/jPfadeA9AG
— The Hill (@thehill) February 3, 2023
BLOOMBERG: Biden admin. has decided to postpone Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to Beijing after detecting a Chinese surveillance balloon that was lingering at high altitude over sensitive nuclear sites in Montana.https://t.co/vVdKI3tmFi
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) February 3, 2023
The Associated Press has more:
The decision came just hours before Blinken had been due to depart Washington for Beijing and marked a new blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations. The official said Blinken and President Joe Biden determined it was best not to proceed with the trip at this time.
Blinken’s long-anticipated meetings with senior Chinese officials had been seen in both countries as a way to find some areas of common ground amid major disagreements over Taiwan, human rights, China’s claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade policy and climate change.
Although the trip, which was agreed to in November by President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Indonesia, had not been formally announced, officials in both Beijing and Washington had been talking in recent days about Blinken’s imminent arrival.
The meetings were to begin on Sunday and go through Monday.
Following the release of the spy balloon, Biden and his administration drew harsh criticism for their response:
China embarrasses Biden’s administration with their spy balloon spotted flying over US. Earlier this week former CIA director and former States secretary of state @mikepompeo warned that China was the US greatest national security threat. China says it was a weather device! pic.twitter.com/TYEcy6ydU8
— RKOT (@RKOTOfficial) February 3, 2023
Following the incident, many asked Biden to cancel Blinken’s planned trip.
Maybe he finally felt the pressure…
#China’s use of this surveillance balloon is a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Biden Administration needs to remove it from U.S. airspace as soon as possible, and Secretary Blinken should not go to #Beijing next week.
— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) February 3, 2023
Shoot down the balloon. Cancel Blinken’s trip. Hold China accountable.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 3, 2023
Biden is letting China walk all over us. It’s time to make America strong again.
