'Will firmly defend...': China responds hours after Biden's State of the Union speech

Hours after US President Joe Biden in his second State of the Union address issued a warning to China, the country has responded. Beijing said it will 'firmly defend' its sovereignty and interest in light of Biden's stern remarks and urged the US to repair the relations.

"We will firmly defend China's sovereignty, security, and development interests," said Mao Ning, the foreign ministry spokesperson.

She urged Washington to 'work with China to push Sino-US relations back to the track of healthy and stable development'.

Earlier, in his address to Congress, Biden had taken a swipe at Beijing, in an attempt to send a strong message to the voters.

"I am committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world," he said, adding, "But make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did."

The tensions have flared between the two sparring countries in recent days after a Chinese spy balloon managed to float across the US airspace for days.

It was shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina last week but not before it had become a major talking point across the world.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, US Secretary of State Antony Blinked cancelled his high-profile visit to Beijing, scheduled this week.

Though China claims it was a civilian balloon meant for meteorological research and not any spying activity, Washington is adamant that Beijing was using it as a surveillance tool

Biden is attempting to run for the 2024 presidential elections. Allowing an allegedly 'Chinese' spy balloon to linger in the US airspace has already dented his falling popularity.

Thus, using the joint Congress session as a platform, Biden set out to send a message and improve the optics. During the speech, he evoked China over a dozen times.

(With inputs from agencies)

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