Fuji  TV: It was reported the Japanese government assessed that the balloon  flying over Japan in January 2022 comes from China. Can the Chinese side  confirm it and do you have any comment?

Wang  Wenbin: We noted the reports. We would like to stress that Japan needs  to be objective and impartial on this instead of following the US’s suit  in dramatizing it.

Reuters:  Earlier you said that the US balloons flew over Chinese airspace over  ten times since 2022. White House National Security Spokesperson John  Kirby had said that he is not aware of any US aircraft in Chinese  airspace. How would you explain the discrepancy in the narratives by  both sides?

Wang Wenbin: We explained the situation yesterday and we have noted that the US did not categorically deny this.

AFP:  You said yesterday that US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown  over China’s airspace without approval from relevant Chinese authorities  over ten times since last year. Do you have any evidence?

Wang Wenbin: We have shared the information. Since you asked, I would like to add some related facts.

Since  last year, more specifically since May last year, the US has released  multiple high-altitude balloons from its territory, which have  continuously circled the globe and flown over the airspace of China and  several dozen other countries over ten times illegally at least without  the approval of relevant Chinese authorities. The US needs to fully look  into this and give China an explanation.

The  Wall Street Journal: Is there any more information you could provide in  terms of what altitude the US balloons were allegedly flying at? And  specifically where were they flying? 

Wang  Wenbin: I have just stated our position. Your question is more suited  to the US side, who needs to give us an explanation about it.

TASS:  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that the  unidentified balloons above the US is a sign of Russia and China ramping  up their intelligence activities against NATO countries. Do you have  any comment on this?

Wang  Wenbin: We have made our position clear on the unintended entry of the  unmanned Chinese civilian airship into US airspace, which was an  unexpected and isolated event. NATO’s remarks are nothing but nefarious  speculation against China. We urge NATO to stop groundlessly accusing  China, stop creating imagined enemies and pushing the boundaries and act  in the interest of world peace and stability. 

Speaking  of surveillance, the US is no doubt the number one country in the  world. Europe and many other countries can certainly tell from their own  experience. Danish media reported that the US National Security Agency  (NSA), while partnering with Denmark’s foreign intelligence unit, spied  on leaders of Germany, Sweden, Norway and France, including former  German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Since 1970s, the CIA has secretly  rigged Crypto AG, a Swiss manufacturer of encryption machines to  eavesdrop on countries around the globe. The rigged encryption devices  sold to over 120 countries were in fact used by CIA to eavesdrop on  secret communications. According to a report released by the  Beijing-based Qi An Pangu lab, Equation, the hacking group under the  NSA, has been creating a top-of-the-line backdoor and conducting a  decade-long cyber attack operation called “Telescreen” against 45  countries and regions, including China, Russia, the UK, Germany and the  Netherlands. The operation covers communications, research institutions,  and economic and military sectors.

According  to POLITICO, the Pentagon has spent billions of dollars in developing  high-altitude reconnaissance balloons since 1997. The Pentagon quietly  transitioned the balloon projects to the military services in 2022,  which may be used to track hypersonic strategic cruise missiles being  developed by China and Russia.

I  hope that as journalists, you will look harder into this and find out  how many more secrets are there behind these US eavesdropping and spying  activities.

Bloomberg:  It was reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is  considering a meeting with China’s Wang Yi at the Munich Security  Conference. Can the foreign ministry confirm this? 

Wang Wenbin: I don’t have anything to offer.

Bloomberg:  We want to know whether Chinese diplomats and state media outlets are  trying to distract public attention from the balloon incident by raising  questions around US involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline blast as  well as the chemical spill from the train derailment? 

Wang  Wenbin: The Nord Stream gas pipelines are vital transnational  infrastructure. The explosions have had a serious impact on the global  energy market and ecological environment. If Seymour Hersh, a well-known  US investigative journalist, is telling the truth about US involvement  in the explosions, what he revealed is clearly unacceptable and must be  answered for. The US owes the world a responsible explanation.

We  wonder why there is little coverage by some media hailed as free,  professional and impartial on the latest investigative report on the  bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines and the chemical leak caused by  the train derailment in the US? Based on what we have seen, this is  nothing new.

Reuters:  Earlier you said the US shooting down of the Chinese balloon was  irresponsible. Can we then understand that because you also said that  China’s handling of the US balloons was responsible and professional  that you were actually saying that China did not shoot the US balloons?

Wang  Wenbin: We have said time and again that the US clearly overreacted by  using force on an unmanned Chinese civilian airship. Quite a few media  outlets have compared the US’s downing of the flying objects to shooting  mosquitoes with flak guns and called it “odd and costly political  behavior art”. The US needs to be careful not to pull its muscle while  flexing it so hard.

Reuters:  We know that you have said earlier that you have no further evidence to  offer about the balloons that you said are from the US. Could you tell  us how do you then know that these balloons belong to the US? 

Wang Wenbin: I just shared additional information with you. I would suggest that you ask the US side to verify this.