The New York Times (NYT), a US daily newspaper, said that Beijing's recent efforts to mend relations with Washington have shown progress, but the appearance of a balloon over the United States reflects ongoing mistrust and growing tensions.
After years of deepening mistrust and simmering tensions, relations between the United States and China seemed poised for a modest recovery, after the leaders of the two countries met at a summit last November.
US Secretary of State Antony Blicken's visit to Beijing this weekend was expected to build on that progress, but all it took was a balloon to turn everything around, according to the newspaper.
The discovery of what US military officials called a "high-altitude surveillance balloon" over Montana this week led Blinken on Friday to cancel his flight to China.
This once again reflected the fragility of the relationship between two powers caught in an increasingly tense rivalry for military, geopolitical, and technological dominance.
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