US, China Diplomats Weigh First Meeting After Balloon Drama

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering a meeting with Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, at the Munich Security Conference later this week, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be their first face-to-face talks since an uproar over a Chinese balloon led to a new spike in tensions.

Blinken and Wang would meet at the conference, which runs Feb. 17 to Feb. 19, provided both sides agree, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.  

Blinken called off his trip to Beijing that had been set for last week after the US identified an alleged Chinese spy balloon hovering over US airspace. The US said it would send the wrong impression to have Blinken visit while the balloon was still aloft. A day after the trip was canceled, the Pentagon shot down the balloon off South Carolina. 

The US claims the balloon was part of a global surveillance program. China has insisted that it was a weather-monitoring device that blew off course.

US Shoots Down Fourth Object as China Levels New Accusation 

Since the first balloon, more unidentified objects have been detected in North American airspace, with three of them shot down in recent days. On Monday, China accused the US of sending more than 10 balloons over its territory since the beginning of 2022. 

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that US officials, who were not named, said the balloon had shifted course abruptly over the Pacific Ocean as a cold front moved in, and that analysts were looking into the possibility that that its flight over the continental US might not have been intentional. Its original path seemed to have been headed toward the US territory of Guam, according to the Post report.

At a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said he had no information to offer on any meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi.

“It is nothing rare for US balloons to illegally enter other country's airspace,” Wang Wenbin told reporters a day earlier. “We reserve the right to take necessary means to deal with relevant incidents.”

That prompted a denial from National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, who called the claim the “latest example of China scrambling to do damage control.” 

A senior administration official, asked about the possibility of a Blinken-Wang Yi meeting, said the US is constantly assessing its options for diplomacy but has nothing to announce. The National Security Council and State Department declined to comment.

(Updates with Washington Post report, in sixth paragraph.)

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