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AFP
AFP
Washington (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday scrapped a rare Beijing trip aimed at easing escalating tensions between the two global powers, after the Pentagon said that China sent a spy balloon over the United States. Moments before the decision, China issued a rare statement of regret and blamed winds for blowing over what it called a civilian airship. But President Joe Biden’s administration was not impressed and, with the rival Republican Party already on the offensive, Blinken postponed his two-day visit that would have started Sunday. “We have noted the PRC statement…