US authorities label a high-altitude balloon spotted over sensitive sites as 'unacceptable', saying it violates US airspace and international law.
Mr Blinken had been prepared as late as Thursday to travel to Beijing this weekend, but the administration had begun to reconsider the trip following the discovery of the balloon on Wednesday, even before its presence was made public.
He said the seriousness of the violation of US airspace, sovereignty and international law was such that Mr Blinken's trip could not go forward as planned. However, the official also said that Mr Blinken had told the Chinese he would be prepared to travel to China "at the earliest opportunity when conditions allow".
Although the trip, which was agreed to in November by President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Indonesia, had not been formally announced, officials in both Beijing and Washington had been talking in recent days about Mr Blinken's imminent arrival.China calls balloon a 'self-steering' airship
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