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The suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down in the US earlier this year was using some American technology, according to a preliminary analysis by the FBI.
The finding that the spy balloon was carrying some US surveillance technology was shared by the FBI with some US lawmakers in March, according to one person familiar with the situation. The incident caused a diplomatic stand-off and derailed efforts to stabilise relations between Washington and Beijing.
The Wall Street Journal and other US media reported earlier on Thursday that the balloon had been carrying US-made surveillance equipment.
The White House and Pentagon declined to comment. US authorities have not made public any details of the equipment on the balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina in February.
In a recent interview, Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House China committee, told the Financial Times he had reviewed FBI information about the balloon, which he described as “eye-opening”. Republican senators have urged the administration to provide a full analysis of the debris from the balloon.
China insists the balloon was conducting meteorological research and flew off course due to bad weather. Beijing has criticised the US response, pointing out American spy planes regularly fly along the Chinese coast, albeit in international airspace.
US officials insist that the balloon, which flew over sensitive nuclear missile facilities in Montana, was engaged in spying. They say it carried a big payload — the size of three school buses — that included surveillance gear and other equipment to spy on American military sites while also violating US airspace.
The balloon incident sparked a crisis in the US-China relationship — which was already in its worst state since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979 — and prompted secretary of state Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a visit to Beijing.
After four months of tense relations, Blinken travelled to Beijing earlier this month, becoming the first secretary of state to visit China since 2018 and the first US cabinet member to visit the country in five years. Blinken met President Xi Jinping in addition to foreign minister Qin Gang and Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat.
Blinken and Xi both described the visit as “constructive” but efforts to set a “floor” under the relationship came under immediate strain after US president Joe Biden last week described Xi as a “dictator”.