China’s high international coverage official on Saturday mocked America’s response to a current Chinese language spy balloon overflight, calling the U.S. actions “absurd and hysterical” and an effort “to divert consideration from its home issues.”

The official, Wang Yi, the Chinese language Communist Social gathering’s senior member for international affairs, repeated his authorities’s declare that the balloon, which flew over a number of U.S. states this month earlier than President Biden ordered it shot down, was a “civilian” craft blown off beam by excessive winds.

He made the remarks in a speech to the Munich Safety Convention, which has been largely centered on Ukraine, as suspense mounted over whether or not he may meet on the sidelines with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. It will be the primary high-level diplomatic trade between Washington and Beijing since Mr. Blinken canceled a deliberate journey to China over the balloon episode.

Mr. Wang opened his look on the convention with remarks about Beijing’s need for “peaceable coexistence” overseas, whereas reiterating acquainted Chinese language admonitions in opposition to interference in its inner affairs and its longstanding opposition to Taiwanese independence.

In phrases that the USA may discover encouraging, Mr. Wang additionally mentioned that “nuclear wars should not be fought,” a possible sign to Beijing’s ally, Moscow, that China is not going to tolerate the usage of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as Russian officers have at instances threatened.

Mr. Wang added that nations “should collectively oppose the usage of chemical and organic weapons underneath any circumstances.” U.S. officers have warned that Russia may also ponder such assaults.

Mr. Wang mentioned that the conflict in Ukraine “should not proceed,” though he was obscure about who is perhaps accountable, saying solely that “some forces may not need to see peace talks to materialize” and “might need strategic targets bigger than Ukraine itself.” That language echoed Kremlin claims, rejected by the West, that Russia is keen to have interaction in good-faith peace talks and that NATO goals to subjugate Russia.

Later Saturday, Mr. Blinken appeared with Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s international minister. The panel moderator requested if anybody onstage had spoken with their Chinese language counterpart — a wink to the hypothesis that Blinken might need a gathering with Mr. Wang. Mr. Blinken mentioned solely that the USA has “made clear” that it might view any provision of navy help to Russia or sanctions evasion as a “very major problem” — however that Washington had not but seen proof of that.

Throughout a question-and-answer session, Mr. Wang turned sharply essential of the USA. He described the balloon as “an unmanned airship that’s civilian in nature” with restricted steering capability and mentioned that it had “veered off beam” and been blown into U.S. airspace.

“We requested the USA to deal with it calmly and professionally primarily based on session with the Chinese language facet,” he mentioned. “Regrettably, the USA disregarded these info and used superior fighter jets and downed a balloon with its missiles.”

“That is, I might say, absurd and hysterical. That is one hundred pc an abuse of the usage of power,” Mr. Wang mentioned, including that Washington had violated a global conference governing airspace.

Within the days after capturing down the Chinese language balloon, U.S. fighter jets downed three different objects over North America that U.S. officers now say they imagine had been innocent and possibly not from China.

“Throughout the globe, there are numerous balloons within the sky from completely different nations,” Mr. Wang mentioned. “Do you need to down every one among them?”

He made no point out of a possible assembly with Mr. Blinken or a doable name between President Biden and China’s high chief, Xi Jinping. Mr. Biden mentioned in remarks to the nation on Thursday that he hoped to talk with Mr. Xi in regards to the matter.

When reporters who chanced upon Mr. Wang within the convention hallways requested him a few doable Blinken assembly, he merely chuckled.