China urges restraint as U.S. military searches

Beijing on Monday urged Washington to show restraint as the U.S. military searched for remnants of what it believes was a Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down over the Atlantic but which China says was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.

The balloon drama has further strained tense relations, prompting Washington to cancel a planned visit over the weekend to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

A U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon off South Carolina on Saturday after the military had tracked its path across the continental United States, a response China described as an “obvious overreaction.”

China has repeatedly said the balloon was intended for scientific purposes and had blown off course.