US Remains World’s Leader in Spying on Other Countries: Chinese Foreign Ministry
An E8-C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System aircraft takes off at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Feb. 13, 2013. JSTARS provides an airborne, stand-off range, surveillance and target acquisition radar and command and control center.
InternationalIndiaAfricaBEIJING (Sputnik) – The United States is the global leader in spying on other countries, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, said on Tuesday. “In regard to government surveillance, we would like to point out that the US is the number one country in the world, and the international community, including Europe, has personal experience in this matter,” he said at a regular briefing. Wand also said, since 1997, the US military have been investing billions of dollars into the research and development of high-altitude reconnaissance balloons, adding that, in 2022, the Pentagon converted such balloons for military use. Now, they are capable of carrying surveillance equipment which can be used for tracking hypersonic strategic Russian and Chinese cruise missiles, the diplomat specified. 
AmericasUS Knew Nothing About China’s ‘Spy Balloons’ Several Months Ago, Senate Majority Leader Says12 February, 18:08 GMTOn Monday, the spokesman said that the US had “the largest spy network in the world” and “spied on calls and chat messages to and from the phones of leaders of Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and other European countries.” In February, the United States detected and later shot down four unidentified flying objects, including an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon. Washington said that it was designed to gather intelligence about sensitive military sites in the country. Beijing insists that the balloon was a mere meteorological device that entered the US airspace accidentally while expressing protest over the Pentagon’s decision to shoot it down. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also stated that US balloons had violated China’s airspace more than 10 times since January 2022.
