US will keep lines of communication open with China: Official
A senior State Department official said the U.S. was still dedicated to keeping lines of communication with China open despite postponing Secretary Antony Blinken's visit.
"The secretary was prepared to depart for Beijing tonight to take on a wide-ranging agenda," the official told reporters. "We have noted the PRC statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. And it is unacceptable it has occurred."
"After consolations with our interagency partners, as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at the moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China," the official added.
The official said Blinken has indicated he will visit China when conditions allow, but did not stipulate what those conditions would have to be.
They also said talks with Beijing would continue across multiple levels of government and that Blinken had been in touch with his Chinese counterpart Friday morning.
"We will maintain open lines of communication with the PRC to address our concerns about this ongoing incident and to responsibly manage the competition between our countries," the official said.
Asked whether the department believed China's explanation of the balloon's purpose and how it happened into American airspace, the official said, "We remain confident in our assessment of the situation."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
