Beijing acknowledged Friday that the high-altitude balloon detected flying above northern US airspace is Chinese and that it entered American territory unintentionally.
In a statement, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry confirmed the Chinese balloon is a private airship designed for studying the weather, according to The Hill.
The Beijing official explained that the balloon "deviated far from its intended course as it was "affected by the westerlies and with limited self-steering capability."
The statement also said that the Chinese government "regrets" that the Chinese balloon flew into American territory by accident.
On Thursday, US military officials verified the balloon's existence, calling it a "high-altitude" Chinese spy balloon.
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Blinken Postpones China Visit
The US State Department said on Friday that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will defer his travel to China scheduled for the following week after Beijing acknowledged that a Chinese spy balloon identified over the USA is from China, per South China Morning Post.
Officials at the State Department told journalists have "determined that under the current circumstances, it would not be productive to visit Beijing at this time."
However, they also noted that "diplomatic channels remain open" and Blinken intends to visit China "at the earliest opportunity when conditions allow" in light of the Chinese balloon issue.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning earlier said that Beijing is hoping that China and the USA "can handle the matter calmly and prudently," as per an HNGN report.
Pentagon officials said that the Chinese balloon is the size of three buses and doesn't have any highly sophisticated technology, per ABC News.
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