The United States has begun to soften its attitude towards the China-US balloon incident. Whether Blinken and Wang Yi will meet will become a point of interest

The China-U.S. balloon incident is not over yet. In the past week, the U.S. shot down three "UFOs" in succession.

The U.S. House of Representatives also passed a draft resolution with a rare high vote of 419:0 on February 9, condemning Chinese balloons for "invading" U.S. airspace and asking the government to formulate corresponding measures to prevent such aircraft from re-entering U.S. airspace.

But on the other hand, judging from the latest US official statement, it seems that the Biden administration intends to ease the tension between China and the United States that has escalated due to this incident, and return to the Sino-US relationship that emerged after the meeting between the Chinese and US leaders in Bali, Indonesia. Xiaoyangchun" situation.

A more obvious sign is that White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby (John Kirby) stated at a regular press conference on the 14th that "no sign or evidence has been found that clearly shows that these three UFOs are spy balloons of the People's Republic of China. programs, or they explicitly involve intelligence-gathering operations by external powers.”

Kirby said that they can only be called "objects" at present, and the source cannot be clarified.

Kirby, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator.

(Reuters)

In the past, when the first balloon appeared, no matter the American media, the military or the government, they all swore that it came from China, and called it a "spy balloon" at the first time. preach.

Comparing the two phases, this change is still obvious.

This shows that although the aftermath of the balloon incident has not yet settled, and the United States is still doing follow-up articles on the downed Chinese balloon, and Sino-US relations have been seriously damaged as a result, Biden does not seem to want to do everything right. After the "political dividend", it began to soften its attitude, hoping to restore relations with China to a certain extent.

However, it remains to be seen whether Biden's abacus will work, and whether China will immediately respond positively.

In the upcoming Munich Security Conference, whether the leaders of China and the United States will meet Wang Yi and Blinken is a very important observation point.

Looking at it a little longer, whether Blinken resumes his visit to China is another more important point of observation.

In fact, before the balloon incident broke out, in order to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of China and the United States in Bali, Indonesia, China has been trying its best to create an atmosphere, hoping to push Sino-US relations out of the state of tense confrontation in the Trump era and get rid of the Pelosi's visit to Taiwan caused a shocking impact.

The Biden administration also has such aspirations.

So in November last year, the two sides met in Indonesia.

In the past year, Sino-U.S. trade has reached a new high, with the bilateral trade volume reaching a record high of 759.427 billion U.S. dollars, of which China’s trade surplus with the U.S. was 404.1 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 46% of China’s trade surplus—a huge fortune Behind the numbers are tens of millions of families, businesses, and employed people. In the face of sluggish consumption, sluggish investment, and declining foreign trade, securing high-quality foreign trade customers like the United States is crucial to China's economic growth and people's well-being. Very important.

Biden delivered a speech at a union on February 15.

(Reuters)

China is very pragmatically aware that, limited by the power comparison between China and the United States and the long-term world structure, China's dependence on this relationship is still greater than the US's dependence on US-China relations. In a state of strategic confrontation, the US can use There are also more game tools.

Therefore, when the political agenda has been settled, the control of the epidemic has been relaxed, and the economy has begun to go all out, a stable Sino-US relationship is not only important for China's economic recovery, but also for improving China's international space environment and reducing conflicts caused by Sino-US conflicts. Development resistance is also the key.

To this end, China has been creating an atmosphere conducive to the improvement of Sino-US relations, including the adjustment of the positions of certain symbolic figures, and Blinken's visit to China in accordance with the Bali consensus.

In addition, in order to curb China's high-tech development, the Biden administration has been severely blocking China's chip R&D and manufacturing. Recently, it has been reported that it will cut off Huawei's chip supply chain.

In response to these US actions, China has not responded reciprocally, but has shown strong strategic determination and sincerity to improve Sino-US relations. While criticizing the US, China has always expressed its hope to solve the problem through communication.

Even after the balloon incident fermented, before the U.S. side dropped the balloon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement was very low-key and sincere, obviously not wanting this incident to impact Sino-U.S. relations.

Even after the balloon incident detonated, while counterattacking the United States, China still kept the overall situation in mind and continued to steadily promote the restoration of relevant diplomatic agendas.

On February 14, it was reported that China had previously relaxed a measure that restricted the US Consul General in Hong Kong from meeting with Hong Kong officials and politicians during the deterioration of US-China relations in recent years, allowing them to give five days’ notice without prior approval.

Previously, China has stipulated that since 2020, the US Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau must obtain prior approval from the Office of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong before meeting with Hong Kong officials and politicians.

China-U.S. Balloon Incident: The U.S. claims that on February 1, 2023, an object suspected of being a Chinese "spy balloon" flew over Billings, Montana, USA.

Later, China responded that the balloon marked with a white circle was a civil sounding balloon, which drifted into the United States due to force majeure.

(Reuters)

Therefore, from the above practices, we can see that China has always been full of sincerity in promoting the recovery of Sino-US relations. It is indeed hoped that the meeting between the leaders of China and the United States in Bali, Indonesia, will be the starting point to create an atmosphere and promote the recovery of bilateral relations. , because it is very important to China's economic recovery and overall national interests.

However, the United States has gone too far on the balloon issue, and the whole hype process is full of political malice.

Under the political criticism and pressure of the two parties, as well as the American media and the neoconservatives who advocate being tough on China, Biden also rubbed his legs and staged a large-scale political performance, showing an image of being tough on China.

However, after "consuming" the dividends brought by this performance, starting from the self-interest of the United States, Biden may not think that this matter can be done too badly. After all, the United States still needs China to buy national debt and needs to cooperate with China in some areas. Cooperation, so I softened my posture again.

As for how China will respond, how bilateral relations will develop next, whether Wang Yi and Blinken will meet in Munich, Germany, and when Blinken will resume his visit to China, it is very worthy of attention.

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