U.S., China Diplomats See Chance to Clear the Air Over Balloon, Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16, 2023.
By William Mauldin in Washington and Keith Zhai in Singapore
Tensions over the US military’s downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon are set to culminate this weekend in Munich, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi are scheduled to attend a security conference. In recent days, the US and China have been discussing setting up a meeting between Messrs. Blinken and Wang, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting could take place at the Munich Security Conference, which runs Feb. 17-19, the people said, though they cautioned that nothing had been decided and the negotiations are fluid. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend and give a speech on supporting Ukraine, officials said. The top State Department official for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, spoke with the senior Chinese envoy at the embassy in Washington last week about the incursion into US airspace of a balloon the US says was gathering intelligence for China, US officials said. Mr. Kritenbrink sought to convey the administration’s interest in resuming diplomatic talks with China, with the understanding that US sovereignty wasn’t to be violated, US officials said. The Biden administration has sought to lay what officials call a floor beneath relations with Beijing to prevent them from deteriorating further.