The Pentagon said the balloon over the US is being used for surveillance, rejecting China's claim that the aircraft was a "civilian airship" for research that deviated from its course. Meanwhile, on Friday evening the Pentagon said that a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted floati
Moments before the decision to scrap the visit - aimed at easing tensions between the two countries - China issued a rare statement of regret and blamed winds for pushing what it called a civilian airship into US airspace.
The Pentagon earlier on Friday flatly denied the Chinese government's claim that the balloon serves a civilian research purpose, saying that the US knows it is a "surveillance balloon."
Addressing the news conference in Washington, Biden said, "I spoke this morning with director of China's foreign affairs office Wang Yi to convey that in light of China's unacceptable action, I am postponing my plan of travel this weekend to China as you know President Biden and Xi agreed
The decision by the US President came hours before Blinken was scheduled to depart for Beijing. A postponement in the visit indicates how seriously the Biden administration takes the incident.
"The United States is expanding cooperation with India to address global challenges. I had a good meeting with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today to discuss deepening our strategic partnership.," Blinken said in a tweet.
Several Republican lawmakers, on Wednesday, urged US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to hold China accountable for its human rights abuses and to tell Beijing that their provocative aggression against Taiwan and India is "unacceptable."
As United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to start his trip to China, activists around the world urged him to keep "Human Rights" as his top priority on the agenda.
An official said the State Department is eyeing the first week of March for Blinken's meetings in New Delhi, which would be a run-up to President Joe Biden's meeting with QUAD leaders.
"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani," according to a read-out issued by the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State Ned Prince on Saturday.