US President Joe Biden said he would not apologize to Beijing for the decision to shoot down a Chinese balloon. “We seek competition, not conflict with China. We are not looking for a new cold war. But I will not apologize, ”the American leader said during a speech at the White House, CNN reports.
At the same time, Biden said that he expects “in the near future” to talk about the downed balloon with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but did not specify the possible timing of the meeting. The US President also opined that the recent ballooning incidents highlight the importance of “keeping open lines of communication between our diplomats and military.”
Regarding the balloons themselves, Biden said there was no evidence that they were connected to the intelligence program of China or any other country. According to him, most likely, the balloons belonged to private companies or research institutes that studied the weather or carried out other scientific research. However, they posed a danger to civilian aircraft and the possibility of monitoring secret objects could not be ruled out.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
