This morning Sec. Blinken announced that the trip to China has been postponed indefinitely. This comes after a Chinese aircraft was detected floating over Montana. The aircraft in question was a balloon that the Chinese Foreign Ministry claims was used for “meteorological purposes”.

Blinken’s visit would have made him the highest ranking official to visit China since 2018 which occurred when Mike Pompeo visited high ranking Chinese officials. The trip from Blinken was supposed to entail several high level meetings, likely to discuss issues like Taiwan, the new U.S. naval base, and trade, among other tension points in U.S.-Chinese relations.

Blinken’s cancelled trip is worrying some analyst who fear that relations may further degrade. Yesterday’s balloon incident is not the only case of Chinese incursion into foreign air space.

There is no update on when another set of meetings may be scheduled, or if they will ever be rescheduled. Another article entailing the bigger picture to follow.