Wang Yi blasts airship hype in phone talk with Blinken

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi held a phone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday evening on handling an unintended incident, saying Beijing does not accept "any groundless speculation or hype".

According to media reports, a Chinese unmanned airship has been spotted in airspace above the United States.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday the vessel is a civilian airship from China used for research, mainly meteorological purposes. It deviated far from its planned course due to Westerlies and its limited self-steering capability.

As Wang talked to Blinken, "the two sides communicated on how to deal with the incident in a calm and professional manner," according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said China is a country living up to its responsibilities and has always strictly abided by international law.

"We do not accept any groundless speculation or hype," he said.

In the face of an unexpected situation, what both sides should do is to compose themselves, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgment and manage differences, he added.