A senator said the U.S. needs to man-up in its approach to the Chinese Communist Party after reports that Secretary of State Antony Blinken's previously cancelled trip to China over a suspected spy balloon was back on.
North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Budd took to social media last week to call on President Joe Biden's administration to be tougher with China, according to a June 7 Twitter post.
"The Biden administration’s China trip that was postponed over the spy balloon is back on without any consequences for the CCP," Budd said in his Twitter post. "President Biden must stop this hat in hand diplomacy."
North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, left, meeting last week with United States Marine Corps Commandant nominee General Eric Smith
| facebook.com/SenTedBudd
PBS reported Blinken's planned visit to China was back on track, rescheduled for June 18, but no official confirmations by either the U.S. or China has been forthcoming.
The visit's purpose is to enhance the bilateral relationship between the two nations, particularly following recent tensions, including those surrounding the spy balloon incident, according to the PBS report. Blinken is expected to meet with various Chinese officials during his trip, including Foreign Minister Qin Gang and potentially President Xi Jinping.
NBC News reported the balloon, about the size of three school buses, was subsequently intercepted and shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon was suspected of gathering information from multiple American military sites, an allegation that Beijing consistently has denied. The Chinese government has maintained the balloon was simply an airship that unintentionally deviated from its intended course.
"We have no travel for the Secretary to announce; as we've said previously, the visit to the People's Republic of China will be rescheduled when conditions allow," State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said in a June 7 Reuters news story. Patel's comment was in response to a query about the status of the Blinken's scheduled trip.
