US media, politicians using balloon incident “to smear China”, says Beijing

BY A STAFF REPORTER: Beijing on Saturday said that US media and politicians have “hyped up” the balloon incident and are using it to “attack and smear China”.Responding to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s decision to postpone his planned trip to China due to the entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson in a media briefing said, “We have no intention to violate and has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country. Some politicians and media in the US have hyped it up to attack and smear China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that.”