The latest in a series of shifting stances the nation has taken on a story that has captivated the entire world is China's accusation that the US has flown balloons into its airspace.
Since the US initially charged China with launching a spy balloon over US territory, it has been almost two weeks.
From outrage to hysterical speculation, the incident has elicited a variety of reactions from the Chinese government and populace.
Chinese officials delayed responding immediately after the Pentagon first revealed the existence of the balloon on February 2; they finally spoke up the following evening.
They acknowledged in a statement that the object was theirs, but they also stated that it was a "civilian airship used for research, primarily meteorological, purposes" that had been blown off course.
They described it as an accident and adopted a tone that was almost apologetic—unusual for Beijing—saying that they regretted the airship's accidental entry into US airspace as a result of "force majeure.".
State media, however, who had largely waited to report the story until the government's admission, became more defensive.
The fabricated balloon lie, according to China Daily, "cannot be tied to China," while the Global Times urged the US to "be more sincere in repairing relations with China instead of making provocative actions against it.".
Netizens jumped at the opportunity to make jokes about the incident, with many referring to the object as "The Wandering Balloon" in a nod to the well-known Chinese science-fiction book and movie The Wandering Earth.
Chinese authorities issued a longer, more forceful statement the following morning in response to reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had canceled a trip to China. Blinken reportedly cited "some politicians and media in the US have hyped it up to attack and smear China.".
The US shot the balloon down that same day, infuriating China.
Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, described it as "clearly an overreaction" and "inacceptable and irresponsible.".
"The airship is not US property. When questioned about whether China had asked to have the balloon's remains returned, she replied, "It belongs to China.
The US embassy in Beijing received a formal complaint from officials.
Chinese nationalists criticized the US furiously online. Former editor-in-chief of Global Times and prominent commentator Hu Xijin believed the US "had to end" the situation with a missile because Americans "aren't able to treat an accident by seeking truth from facts, instead they had to politicalize it.".
In the meantime, a second balloon that the Chinese government acknowledged was theirs was seen drifting over Latin America.
In the absence of information about the balloon's civilian origins, there was hysterical speculation about who exactly had launched it on the Chinese internet.
Numerous people seized on recent news reports that identified a local business, ChemChina Zhuzhou Rubber Research and Design Institute, as one of China's major manufacturers of high-altitude balloons.
Some bloggers asserted the balloon was produced by ChemChina Zhuzhou, a division of a state-owned company. However, there is no proof that the business is connected to the airship.
On Sunday, a report in the newspaper The Paper about an allegedly flying object off the coast of the eastern Shandong province added to the confusion.
Fisheries officials allegedly warned nearby fishermen that Chinese authorities were getting ready to shoot down the object. .
Some Chinese media outlets reprinted the report, but state media and government agencies said nothing. Despite this, it sent social media into overdrive, with some accounts even live streaming satellite images over the region.
However, some people online reacted suspiciously and questioned whether the information was true, wondering why it had not been released through more official channels.
The Chinese government announced a fresh accusation on Monday: US balloons had violated their airspace at least ten times in the previous year.
Instead of defaming and accusing China, a foreign ministry spokesman advised the US side to "start with a clean slate and engage in some self-reflection.".
The United States has refuted the charge.
State media, meanwhile, has started concentrating on a different story involving an Ohio derailed train carrying hazardous materials.
Chinese news outlets are now giving the incident significant coverage, despite the fact that it happened in early February, according to US media reports. To stop contamination, officials released dangerous chemicals from the train in a controlled manner.
Since then, it has emerged as a major topic of discussion on social media. Since the weekend, the Ohio train hashtag on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, has been viewed up to 690 million times, and more than 40 hashtags have been created around the subject.
Many Chinese internet users have expressed concern that the incident will lead to a global environmental crisis as well as annoyance at the relative lack of coverage given to the train incident in US media when compared to the balloon incident.
According to a post that has received nearly 3,000 likes, "Turns out the Wandering Balloon was being used to take the heat for Ohio."
