China’s most senior diplomat has described the shooting down of a balloon by the US as “absurd and hysterical”, as well as an abuse of the use of force.

Iran PressEurope: Speaking on stage at the Munich security conference on Saturday, Wang Yi said: “It does not show the US is strong; on the contrary, it shows it is weak”. The foreign affairs director said he believed the shooting down was part of an attempt to divert attention from the domestic problems of the Biden administration.

He asked the US: “There are many balloons in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?”

China has insisted the balloon was a civilian non-military instrument that had been blown off course.

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