US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a meeting in Munich with China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who heads the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee, that a Chinese balloon entering US airspace "must never happen again". , AP reported.

The meeting was the first high-level contact between the two countries since the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon two weeks ago.

"I condemned the entry of a Chinese surveillance balloon and emphasized that this should never happen again," Blinken said on Twitter, BTA said.

According to the State Department, Blinken and Wang had an hour-long conversation in Munich, where they were participating in the Munich Security Conference.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken “has made clear that the United States will not tolerate any infringement of its sovereignty and that China's high-altitude surveillance balloon program, which has entered the airspace of more than 40 countries in five the continent, has been revealed to the world”.

The US secretary of state canceled a visit to China earlier this month over the balloon case, which has become a major point of contention between the two countries.

Blinken also told Wang that the US is not seeking conflict with China. The secretary of state has "emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic dialogue and open lines of communication at all times," Price said.

Blinken has repeatedly warned China against providing support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, including helping it evade Western sanctions, Price said.

"I have warned China not to provide material support to Russia," Blinken said on Twitter.

Earlier on Saturday at a meeting of world leaders in Munich, Wang Yi condemned the US response to the balloon as "absurd and hysterical".

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