The FBI's probe into the crashed alleged Chinese spy balloon has raised worries in China and because of this it is refusing to let US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visit Beijing, reported Financial Times citing sources familiar with the discussions.
Four persons involved with the discussions claimed that China had informed the US that it was unwilling to reschedule a trip that Blinken had postponed in February.
In February, Blinken was scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping in China but unexpectedly postponed his trip because of the balloon saga. FBI has been examining the debris that was recovered from it. There are conflicting stances from both sides. China says it was a weather balloon that went off track, contrary to the US's claim that the device was eavesdropping on secret military facilities.
According to three persons with knowledge of the discussion, Qin Gang, China's foreign minister, brought up the subject with Americans attending the China Development Forum in Beijing last month. One source said Qin cited the FBI probe as another problem that made it challenging to normalize US-China relations.
MNA/PR