Beijing’s abrupt shift from expressing regret to threatening retaliation over the United States' claims about a spy balloon reflects the domestic imperative for Xi Jinping to show he’s standing up for China against external pressure, further narrowing the window to reset ties before the U.S. election season gets into full swing.
This weekend was supposed to be a step forward, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving in Beijing for the first such visit in more than four years. But the dispute meant it was spent trading barbs real and figurative, as an F-22 Raptor blasted the high-tech Chinese balloon out of the sky off the coast of South Carolina with a single Aim-9X Sidewinder missile.
Instead of establishing “guardrails” and holding high-level meetings — including possibly with President Xi — Blinken ended up postponing his trip until a date yet to be determined.
