(14 Feb 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing - 14 February 2023
1. Wide of news conference
2. Wide of journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“Since last May, the U.S. has released multiple high-altitude balloons from its territory, and they have constantly circled the globe and illegally flown over the airspace of China and other countries more than ten times at least without authorization of relevant authorities. The U.S. should conduct a thorough investigation into this and give China an explanation.”
4. Journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“We hope Japan will uphold an objective and fair position and not follow the U.S. to play up the issue.”
6. Journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“Normal economic cooperation and trade between Chinese and U.S. companies should not be politicized. We urge the people concerned in the U.S. to abandon ideological bias, stop generalizing the concept of national security, stop unreasonably suppressing enterprises of other countries, and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese enterprises’ investment and operation in the U.S.”
8. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
China on Tuesday reiterated claims that the U.S. has flown balloons over its airspace “without authorization” last year and demanded a “thorough investigation” into the situation.
The balloons “illegally flown over the airspace of China and other countries more than ten times at least without authorization of relevant authorities” since May last year, said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The remark came a day after White House national security spokesperson John Kirby denied the claim, saying that the U.S. is “not flying surveillance balloons over China.”
Early this month, the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast, sparking a new crisis in bilateral relations that have sunk to their lowest level in decades and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned visit to China.
At a daily news briefing, Wang also called on Japan to “uphold an objective and fair position and not follow the U.S.” to play up the balloon issue after Japanese officials claimed a balloon spotted over the western Kyushu Island in early 2022 was likely from China.
Asked about U.S. politicians’ opposition to a planned cooperation project between the American and Chinese companies in Michigan state, Wang said the normal economic cooperation should not be “politicized.”
Chinese electric vehicle battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) will provide preparatory and operational services for US carmaker Ford Motor's battery plant in Michigan in the US, according to reports.
Some U.S. politicians questioned the project, saying it could be the Chinese Communist Party’s “Trojan horse”.
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