Hyping balloon incident shows US lacks sincerity to improve China ties
After Washington having made sensational hype over a harmless Chinese balloon – a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes – from Friday to Saturday, a US fighter jet shot it down on Saturday US time.
China expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition toward the US use of force to attack China’s civilian airship, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
The Chinese side has, after verification, repeatedly informed the US side of the civilian nature of the airship and conveyed that its entry into the US due to force majeure was totally unexpected, the statement said, noting the Chinese side has clearly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner.
Even though the Pentagon said the so-called spy balloon “does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” or a significant intelligence gathering risk, many US politicians and media outlets have played up the “China threat” with ulterior motives, launching another round of smearing campaign against China.
US media outlets have also been hyping that Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his reported trip to China in response to the balloon episode.
“Normally, in response to an accidental incident resulting from force majeure, the two sides will move on after expressing regrets. Or they can set how to deal with such kind of incidents as a subject to negotiate,” Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
“Blinken’s response in postponing his reported trip is not a proportionate response,” Lü noted.
Several causes can explain why Washington is so intent on hyping a civilian airship into a critical political incident.
First, the China-US ties are still tense, with rampant antiChina forces in the US.
They intend to exploit the airship incident to further instigate domestic anti-China sentiment, twist China’s global image into a power not abiding by international rules, and a huge “threat” to other countries’ security, so that the US can easily solidify its allies to contain China at the international stage.
This mirrors how radical and perilous the US’ policy toward China is.
Furthermore, the heated discussion and exaggeration of the civilian airship suggests that as political polarization intensifies, any incident will become the topic to intensify partisan contest in the US. The so-called spy balloon has become an incident from which ambitious politicians from different political parties can gain political capital and enhance political rights. The GOP has used it as another weapon to attack the Biden administration.
And in response, branches of the US government, including US Department of State, have to take a hawkish position, in a bid to satisfy domestic opposition forces.
Lü noted that the US government needs to remain sober, and as diplomacy and internal affairs are two separated matters, it is not wise for the US government to do nothing when the internal conflicts between two parties affect its foreign policy.
If the US government is willing to fix the China-US relations, it is capable of achieving it, including managing the sentiment toward China in the Congress and the US society.
The key is whether the Biden administration has the determination and will to improve US-China bilateral relationship.
But judging from the US government’s response to the airship incident, including Blinken announcing to postpone a reported China trip, the US is short of sincerity in this regard.
A souring China-US relationship is not only detrimental to the whole world, but will backfire on Washington itself.
It is hoped that the US government and political elites could sober up and prevent bilateral ties from further deteriorating.