China is refusing to receive US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for fear that the FBI will release the results of an investigation into an incident involving a strike on what is believed to be a Chinese “spy balloon” at the same time as his visit, the Financial Times reported, citing four sources.
The issue was raised to an American delegation by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the China Development Forum held in Beijing in March, three of the newspaper’s sources said. The diplomat called the FBI investigation “another example of problems” that prevent the normalization of relations between the two countries.
The issue of the FBI’s publication of the results of the investigation caused discussions within the presidential administration in the United States: some officials advocated the disclosure of the results of the investigation to demonstrate that the Chinese probe was indeed conducting surveillance. But other officials said the release of such information would frustrate attempts to build rapport between Washington and Beijing at a time when relations between the two states are at an all-time low.
In addition, Beijing’s position was influenced by the April meeting of several US congressmen, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.
Recall, the US Secretary of State was supposed to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in February, but suddenly canceled his trip due to balloons found in the sky over the US, they were shot down. Washington suspected that they were conducting reconnaissance, in Beijing they insisted that they were weather balloons that had gone astray.
Source: Rosbalt
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