China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, condemned in Munich on Saturday the “absurd and hysterical reaction” of the United States to shoot down a Chinese hot air balloon with a fighter jet, an incident that prompted US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel the planned flight. a last-minute visit to Beijing.

“There are many balloons in the sky from different countries. Do you want to shoot down every one 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 intended for ” civilian” use, reports AFP.

According to Wang Yi, “this is 100% abuse in terms of the use of force, it is a violation of international customs, especially the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation”, which dates back to 1944.

A Chinese balloon, which Washington suspected of espionage, was shot down on February 4 by an American fighter jet. China expressed “great displeasure” saying it was a simple balloon that accidentally entered US airspace.

“We call on the US to stop doing such absurd things to divert attention from its domestic problems,” Wang Yi warned. “We have asked the US to handle this situation calmly and professionally. Unfortunately, the US ignores these facts and uses advanced fighter jets to shoot down the air I shoot with my rockets, which seems absurd and hysterical to me,” he said. diplomat of the highest rank.

On January 1, 2023, Wang was appointed director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), making him China’s highest-ranking diplomat under the direct supervision of CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang is considered the country’s second-ranking diplomat after Wang Yi.

After Anthony Blinken canceled his visit to Beijing over the hot air balloon scandal, there has been speculation that he may meet Wang Yi in Munich to try to mend the relationship.