China’s Balloon Was Part of Planned Posturing Ahead of Blinken’s Beijing Visit
Commentary
The Chinese reconnaissance balloon, shot down by the U.S. Air Force last Saturday, may have been just one of numerous planned incidents by Beijing aimed at increasing its bargaining power in the negotiations scheduled with U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken for this week.
Blinken was supposed to visit Beijing on Feb. 5, but had to canceled the trip at the last minute in the face of heated public outcry over China’s intrusion into U.S. airspace. His trip was originally arranged during a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden at last November’s G20 summit in Indonesia….