United States of America-February 4, 2023

After a Chinese balloon was spotted in the airspace of the United States

The Pentagon announced that a second Chinese spy balloon is flying over Latin America, and Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement: "We are aware of reports of a balloon flying over Latin America. We consider it to be another Chinese spy balloon," he said, without specifying its exact location.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday postponed a visit to Beijing after the United States spotted the first Chinese balloon in its airspace, which it suspects of espionage purposes, an accusation Beijing denied, expressing "regret" for this "unintended"incident.

The decision to postpone came after Beijing expressed "regret" for the violation of US airspace by its balloon.

Beijing considered that the media and politicians in the United States are exploiting American allegations about the launch of a Chinese spy balloon over American territory.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement issued after Blinken postponed a planned visit to Beijing that "some politicians and media in the United States used the incident as an excuse to attack and tarnish China's image".

Earlier, China issued a statement blaming the wind for pushing what it described as a civilian balloon into US airspace.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed that " China... It has never violated the territory and territory of any sovereign state,"he said.

The Biden administration denounced what it described as a" surveillance balloon " flying in the center of the United States.

Under pressure from the Republican Party, Blinken postponed his visit to China, which was scheduled to start on Sunday.

In a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Blinken said that he "took note of the feelings of regret expressed by China, but noted that this is an irresponsible act, a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law, undermining the purpose of the trip," according to the US State Department.

He stressed that the United States hopes to "keep channels of communication open" with Beijing, noting that he may be able to visit Beijing again "when circumstances allow".

A senior U.S. official said the balloon incident "would have seriously limited the program of the talks if the visit had remained on schedule".

Blinken's trip would have been the first visit by a US Secretary of state to China since 2018. Its goal was to ease tension between the United States and the Asian giant, which Washington considers its main rival in the world.