Blinken, China’s Top Diplomat Hold First Meeting Since Balloon Incident

Senior officials from the U.S. and China traded accusations over the downed Chinese balloon in a tense atmosphere of public speeches and a secret meeting Saturday between the countries’ top diplomats.

Wang Yi, China’s most senior foreign-policy official, used a morning speech at the Munich Security Conference to criticize the “nearly hysterical” reaction of Washington to the appearance of its balloon over U.S. territory.

In the afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China against helping Russia in its war in Ukraine in front of a broad audience of diplomats and military officers at the conference.

In the evening, Messrs. Blinken and Wang sat down for an hourlong meeting that wasn’t publicly scheduled, and Mr. Blinken told his counterpart that China’s surveillance balloon program “has been exposed to the world,” according to the State Department.