China has suspended its surveillance balloon program following a major diplomatic incident earlier this year, according to multiple sources familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments who spoke to CNN. The incident involved a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon transiting through U.S. airspace.
Multiple sources with knowledge of U.S. intelligence assessments informed CNN that a high-altitude spy balloon from China passed through the U.S. and was initially detected by U.S. officials in January. It was observed taking flight from the Chinese province of Hainan. It proceeded on a trajectory that led it across Alaska and Canada before reentering the U.S. through northern Idaho. Subsequently, it moved toward Montana, lingering over strategically significant locations.
According to these intelligence sources, U.S. officials believe that Chinese authorities have consciously opted not to deploy more balloons after the one that traversed U.S. airspace in February. This decision followed American fighter jets' interception and destruction of the balloon, according to CNN.
The program's suspension appears to coincide with efforts by both the United States and China to de-escalate their increasingly strained relationship.
When questioned about the balloon program, Liu Pengyu, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, told CNN that the February incident was "unexpected" and "isolated."
"Since the incident happened, China has stated repeatedly that the balloon is found to be an unmanned civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes and that its accidental entry into U.S. airspace is entirely an unexpected, isolated incident caused by force majeure," Liu said.
"The facts are clear and shall not be distorted or misrepresented. We hope relevant parties can stop hyping up on this," she added.
President Joe Biden revealed in June that the balloon's location surprised Chinese leader Xi Jinping. During a political fundraiser, Biden disclosed that Xi had become highly agitated following the U.S.'s interception and destruction of a balloon, stating: "Xi got very upset" as a result of the incident.
Nevertheless, the event was a source of embarrassment for the Biden administration. At the time, the administration was arranging a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing to reestablish communication channels with Chinese leaders; however, his visit was postponed due to the spy balloon.
At the time, CNN reported that the U.S. intelligence assessment indicated the spy balloon's association with an extensive surveillance program managed by the Chinese military. U.S. officials said this fleet of balloons had undertaken at least two dozen missions across five continents in recent years.
China, however, consistently asserted that the balloons in question were a civilian research airship, which had inadvertently strayed off course due to the influence of westerly winds and limited self-steering capabilities.
Upon its detection, China issued a rare statement expressing "regret" over the incident. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated, "It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course."
The FBI concluded its examination of the remnants of the spy balloon earlier this year. In June, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. government assessed that the balloon had not gathered intelligence during its time over the U.S.
"We believe that [the balloon] did not collect [information] while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing, according to CNN.
In response to the incident, the U.S. took measures to enhance the capabilities of its radar systems. These adjustments were made to improve the detection of objects flying at specific altitudes and speeds. The objective was to address a perceived "domain awareness gap" that had permitted the transit of three suspected Chinese spy balloons across the continental United States without detection during the Trump administration. Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, articulated this rationale at the time.
However, implementing these more sensitive radar systems increased the identification of unidentified objects in U.S. airspace. Consequently, three additional instances occurred in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident in which unidentified high-altitude objects were intercepted and neutralized.