Speaking at a press conference on the closing day of the G7 summit in Japan, Biden said the downing of the balloon carrying “two train cars full of spy gear” detracted from the goodwill created by his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last November.
Meanwhile, the American president is optimistic. “I think pretty soon you’ll see it start to thaw,” he observed. He added that his government is considering lifting sanctions against Chinese Defense Minister Li Shagfu. The latter will meet his American counterpart Lloyd Austin at an event in Singapore in June.
Careful recovery
Biden has previously said he wants to meet with Xi and is optimistic the two will plan a long-awaited phone call soon, though he gave no indication of when that might happen. The White House has begun engaging with China on several fronts after rising tensions led to a communications breakdown earlier this year.
Diplomatic meetings between the two countries are now underway again. For example, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna last week. Also, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will visit US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Washington next week. These are the first signs that both governments want to put the balloon incident behind them.