The United States has reiterated its willingness to foster bilateral cooperation with China as both countries agreed to do last November on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali (Indonesia), despite the heightened tensions over the episode of the alleged Chinese spy balloon over U.S. airspace.
Washington has said it is continuing its talks with Beijing despite the fact that the Chinese balloon incident has not helped improve relations between the two countries, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press conference.
«Our approach with China has been quite clear (…) and will continue to be calm, decisive and practical. That’s not going to change in how we’re going to move forward in our relationship with China, in our diplomatic discussions,» Jean-Pierre said.
According to the Biden Administration, the U.S. government is keeping the lines of communication with China open. Thus, it has assured that after the decision to shoot down the Chinese balloon was taken, the US authorities communicated directly with the Chinese authorities.
In this sense, Jean-Pierre stressed that «China’s irresponsible actions» -which include the alleged Chinese balloons over US territory and over Latin America- have been seen by the United States and the world.
«It’s up to China to show that it means what it says about being a responsible country, that it wants to build on the meeting that President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping had very recently,» the White House spokeswoman reiterated.
Regarding the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China, which was to have taken place last week, Jean-Pierre assured that it had simply been postponed. According to the White House, the trip of the head of U.S. diplomacy to China will take place «when the weather permits».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)