President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the United States is "not looking for conflict" with China despite tensions over the shooting down of what US officials say was a Chinese spy balloon.
"We're going to compete fully with China, but... we're not looking for conflict -- and that's been the case so far," he said in an interview with the PBS network.
Biden's comments apparently sought to defuse tensions over the dramatic incident in which a huge Chinese balloon traversed much of the United States before being shot down by a US Air Force jet just off the east coast on Saturday.
Asked if the incident had caused major damage to the relationship with Beijing, Biden said "no."
China insists the balloon was merely conducting weather research but the Pentagon described it as a high-tech spying operation. The balloon floated at an altitude far higher than most airplanes and crossed directly over at least one sensitive US military site.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Hardik Pandya, Natasa Stankovic Mutually Part Ways
Donald Trump Accepts Republican Nomination Amid Chants Of USA From Crowd "Not Running For Just Half Of America": Donald Trump's Pitch Ahead Of Polls Joe Biden "Soul Searching" About Dropping Reelection Campaign: Report 'Entire NEET Paper Solved In 45 Minutes Before Exam?': Top Court To Centre "Had God On My Side": Donald Trump Recounts Being Shot At During Rally 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters Google Brings AI To US Broadcast Of Paris Olympics Video: Children Jump On E-Rickshaw, Chase Foreigners For Money In Delhi "Every Time I Try To Eat Healthy" - Video Creator's Editing Skills Amaze Internet Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.