US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned trip to China after the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon flying over US airspace – Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis/Pool/File Photo

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his trip to China—due to begin today—over the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon flying over US airspace.

The postponement of the trip—which would’ve included discussions on the war in Ukraine—is Washington’s initial response while US President Joe Biden considers further action. Beijing acknowledges the balloon was Chinese—though its claim that it was a civilian weather balloon has been rejected by the Pentagon.

That the trip has not been canceled and Beijing has responded with a conciliatory statement of “regret” a signal that officials from both capitals are trying to de-escalate the situation. US lawmakers have pressured Biden to take a tough stance but the U.S. President—on strong advice from the Pentagon—has already ruled out shooting the balloon down as officials don’t view it as posing a military threat to the US. Biden is further unlikely to change his mind given the potential harm to civilians on the ground shooting the balloon down could cause.

Expect both administrations to continue diplomatic engagement behind the scenes. This would indicate that both countries accept the reality that there is a long history of spying on each other. This incident has, however, set back Biden’s higher priority of engaging China to weaken Beijing’s implicit support for Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.