By Ginger Gibson and Christina Zhao -
NBC News
China's top foreign affairs official offered "no apology" in his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the spy balloon that was flown over the United States, Blinken said in an interview on NBC News on Saturday.
"There was no apology," Blinken said of his conversation with Wang Yi, director of the Central Office for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, "but it was an opportunity to speak very clearly and very directly about the fact. that China sent a surveillance balloon over our territory, violating our sovereignty and international law."
"I told him it was unacceptable and it can't happen again," he added.
Blinken's visit comes after tensions between Mexico and the US (and AMLO calling them "nosy")
Sept.
12, 202201:49
[China threatens the United States for shooting down its balloon]
Blinken met with Wang on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday before the interview with NBC News.
He also expressed concern that China is helping the Russians in the war in Ukraine.
NBC News reported Saturday that US officials believe China may be providing non-lethal military aid to Russia.
"We are very concerned that he is considering providing lethal support to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said, "and I made it clear that that would have serious consequences for our relationship, and it is something that President [Joe] Biden has said directly to President Xi [Jinping] on several occasions."
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Blinken further stated that he told Wang that there must be lines of communication between China and the US: "It is something that the world expects of us: that we manage this relationship responsibly, and so it was important that we have that opportunity this late".
Blinken said the United States is not the only nation that has been targeted by Chinese balloons.
"More than 40 countries have been flown over in recent years, and that has been exposed to the world," he explained.
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Diplomatic tensions between the two countries have risen since the United States shot down what it says was a spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
China has insisted that the balloon was not intended for surveillance purposes.
The balloon, which floated over the United States for eight days, included "multiple antennas" capable of picking up intelligence signals and the balloon maker has proven ties to the Chinese military, NBC News reported, according to a senior Department of Defense official. State.
The United States has received no credible explanation and continues to maintain that it was a surveillance balloon, a senior State Department official said Saturday.