Blinken cancels Beijing summit as Chinese 'spy' balloon flies over USA

The US secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled his first official visit to Beijing on Friday following the discovery of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over United States airspace, as Pentagon officials tracked the aircraft eastwards across the country.

- RICHARD HALL, ANDREW FEINBERG

In a flurry of briefings throughout the day, American diplomatic and military officials condemned the Chinese government while giving few details about the nature or location of the vessel. Officials stressed that the balloon posed no danger to civilians on the ground.

The incident comes at a time of already-heightened tensions between the two countries, which Mr Blinken's trip was supposed to address. Among the many points of contention are various trade disputes, the fate of Taiwan, and Chinese economic influence in the United States. The schedule for the visit included a meeting with China's president, Xi Jinping.

Explaining his decision to cancel the visit, Mr Blinken described the balloon as "a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law", and an "irresponsible act".

The balloon was first sighted in US airspace on Wednesday over Billings, Montana, prompting the Pentagon to announce that it was monitoring what it described as a "high-altitude surveillance balloon".

During a hastily called briefing on Thursday evening, a senior defence official said the balloon's path carried it "over a number of sensitive sites". The town of Billings is a little over 320km (200 miles) from a nuclear missile silo field at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The presence of an alleged Chinese surveillance craft over US airspace prompted the US military to scramble F-22 fighter jets in case a decision was taken to shoot it down, the official added. Officials decided against that course of action due to the risk of debris injuring civilians on the ground.