As China’s spy balloon drifted across the continental United States in February, U.S. intelligence agencies learned that Chinese President Xi Jinping had become enraged with senior Chinese military generals.
The spy agencies had been trying to understand what Xi knew and what actions he would take as the balloon, originally aimed at U.S. military bases in Guam and Hawaii, was blown off course.
Xi was not opposed to risky spying operations against the United States, but U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the People’s Liberation Army had kept Xi in the dark until the balloon was over the United States.