WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering a meeting with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, at a 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 Munich Security 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 U.S. identified an alleged Chinese spy balloon hovering over U.S. airspace. The U.S. 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 U.S. claims the balloon was part of a global surveillance program. China has insisted that it was a weather-monitoring device that blew off course.
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 U.S. of sending more than 10 balloons over its territory since the beginning of 2022.
“It is nothing rare for U.S. balloons to illegally enter other country’s airspace,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday. “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 meeting, said the U.S. is constantly assessing its options for diplomacy but has nothing to announce. The National Security Council and State Department declined to comment, as did the Chinese Embassy.
