Beijing Rejects U.S. Phone Call to Thrash Out Balloon Spat

What’s new: China has rejected a U.S. proposal for a phone call between the countries’ defense chiefs to discuss the recent balloon incident, criticizing Washington for setting “a very bad precedent” by shooting down the unmanned Chinese airship, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Beijing turned down the offer given the U.S.’ “irresponsible and seriously wrong practice, which had failed to create a proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchange between the two militaries,” Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement Thursday.