PARIS, February 15. /TASS/. The situation around Ukraine is an escape for the United States, while Beijing remains Washington’s key rival, as the downed Chinese balloon showed, Sylvie Bermann, former French ambassador to China, the United Kingdom and Russia, said on Wednesday.

In an op-ed published in Les Echos, the diplomat wrote, "The renewed tensions say more than ever that, for the United States, the war in Ukraine is a distraction <...>, and that the existential confrontation is that which opposes them to China."

For the US, China, which has lately been "more or less off the radar" due to the conflict in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic slump, "is coming back to the fore," she maintained.

"A Chinese balloon, perhaps, but the reality is that everyone - at least those who can afford it - spies on everyone. All the time," Bermann asserted.

According to her, Washington has been busy doing this the world over, even targeting its allies, "including France and Germany, who quickly forget and are content with vague [US] excuses."

America’s Chinese balloon saga

Earlier, US authorities spotted a Chinese balloon flying over mainland America at an altitude well above standards for commercial air traffic. However, it did not pose a threat to people on the ground. On February 4, the US armed forces shot down this "reconnaissance balloon" within national airspace. It was, according to the Pentagon, engaged in "the collection of important information." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his then-anticipated visit to China in response to the incident.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the attacks and slander from Washington. Beijing explained that the Chinese meteorological probe ended up in US airspace by accident.

Last week, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) pinpointed three more "unidentified objects," two of which were shot down by the US military in national airspace and another one over Canada. It was noted that all three objects were much smaller than the Chinese balloon, flew at a lower altitude, and differed in appearance.