Spy balloon

As it becomes clearer that China and the US have entered a new Cold War, Beijing’s spy operations have grown more flagrant and provocative. Whether it be flying spy balloons, buying farmland near US military bases or even establishing a secret police station in New York City, China is slowly but surely infiltrating the US. In February 2023, a US fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic. The balloon crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January before passing through Canada and into Montana. While the balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time, CNN reports the government doesn’t know exactly what intelligence was gathered.

A year ago today, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands with each other on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in an attempt to reset the world’s most important bilateral relationship. The two men, who knew each other during their previous encounters at the vice presidential level, hoped to exploit their familiarity with one another to bring US-China relations onto a more productive plane. And for a moment, the Bali talkathon seemed to have that effect.