U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rebuked China’s top diplomat in their first in-person meeting since the uproar over an alleged spy balloon, telling Wang Yi that the craft’s entry into U.S. airspace was an “irresponsible act that must never again occur.”
Blinken also warned Wang against helping Russia evade sanctions linked to the invasion of Ukraine or provide material support to President Vladimir Putin’s forces, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout that was unusually blunt in its language.
“The Secretary made clear the United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty, and that the PRC’s high altitude surveillance balloon program — which has intruded into the air space of over 40 countries across 5 continents — has been exposed to the world,” Price said in the statement, referring to China by its formal name, the People’s Republic of China.
