Chinese ball: Beijing denounces the "hysterical" reaction of the United States

The tone continues to rise between Beijing and Washington

Chinese ball: Beijing denounces the "hysterical" reaction of the United States

The tone continues to rise between Beijing and Washington. The head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, denounced on Saturday February 18 in Munich the "absurd and hysterical reaction" of the United States, which shot down a Chinese balloon with a fighter plane.

“There are many balloons in the sky, from different countries. Do you want to shoot down each of them? This does not show that America is strong," Wang Yi said at the Munich Security Conference, assuring that the balloon shot down in the American sky was for "civilian" use.

For Wang Yi, "it is 100% abuse of the use of force, it is a violation of international customary practice, in particular the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation", which dates from 1944. This aircraft, which Washington has accused of spying, was shot down on February 4 by an American fighter jet.

China had expressed "strong displeasure" after US fighters shot down the aircraft, a mere weather research balloon that had unintentionally drifted into US airspace, it said.

"We urge the United States not to do such absurd things just to divert attention from its domestic problems," Wang Yi warned.

"We have asked the United States to handle this situation in a calm and professional manner," he said. “Unfortunately, the United States ignores these facts and uses advanced fighter jets to shoot down a balloon with their missiles, which I think is absurd and proves a hysterical reaction. »