President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping may not have been aware of the launch of a weather balloon that flew over US territory and was shot down by the US military. This is reported by The Washington Post.

The publication notes that the story with the Chinese balloon could really be an accident, which may indicate that the leader of the PRC is not in the know.

“If it was done by the military, by some company, or by the Chinese Academy of Sciences without his knowledge ... then it makes me worry about what is happening inside the country,” Mary Gallagher, director of the International Institute and professor of political science at the University of Michigan, told WP.

The newspaper emphasizes that Beijing's failure to resolve the incident before it escalated suggests that other similar stories could happen.

Earlier, NBC reported that the flight of a Chinese balloon over the territory of the United States killed China's "huge propaganda victory" and became a disgrace to the country.

US President Joe Biden's decision to shoot down a Chinese weather balloon was a blow to relations between Washington and Beijing, Politico wrote.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has protested the US action that resulted in the downing of a Chinese meteorological probe.