In February, as China’s surveillance balloon drifted across the continental United States, American intelligence agencies uncovered President Xi Jinping’s mounting frustration with high-ranking Chinese military leaders.

These intelligence agencies were actively working to decipher Mr. Xi’s knowledge and potential responses to the situation, as the balloon, initially intended for reconnaissance over U.S. military installations in Guam and Hawaii, had veered off course.

While Mr. Xi had shown a willingness to engage in daring espionage activities against the United States, American intelligence assessments concluded that the People’s Liberation Army had not kept Mr. Xi informed until the balloon had crossed into American airspace, DNYUZ has reported.

Details surrounding how these revelations were acquired remain undisclosed by American officials.

However, sources familiar with the intelligence have disclosed that upon discovering the balloon’s unexpected trajectory and its impact on scheduled talks with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Mr. Xi reprimanded senior military leaders for their failure to promptly inform him of the balloon’s deviation.

This incident shed light on the intensifying and highly clandestine competition in the realm of espionage between the United States and China.

The balloon crisis, just a fragment of a broader Chinese intelligence campaign, highlights Beijing’s audacious pursuit of intelligence concerning the United States, while also underscoring Washington’s expanding capabilities to gather its own information on China.

Written by staff