White House 'looking to move beyond' Chinese spycraft incidents

US and Chinese officials agreed it was best to 'reestablish standard, normal channels of communications' and called the incident 'unfortunate'

President Biden's administration is seeking to "move beyond" the controversy caused by Chinese spy balloons shot down over the continental United States, The Associated Press reports.

The drastic shift in tone came from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi. 

CHINESE OFFICIAL INSISTS SPY BALLOONS WEREN'T GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, REFUSES TO CLARIFY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The two officials spoke at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday, during which they reportedly agreed the February incident was "unfortunate."

The White House called the unpublicized meeting between Washington and Beijing leaders as "candid" and "constructive."

CHINA MAINTAINS SPY BALLOON IS CIVILIAN, CLAIMS SOME IN US 'HAVE HYPED IT UP TO ATTACK AND SMEAR CHINA'

Chinese foreign affairs Minister Wang Yi speaks during the Munich Security Conference on in Munich. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

An administrative official familiar with the meeting, speaking with members of the press on condition of anonymity, said both the White House and CCP leadership are looking to "reestablish standard, normal channels of communications" after months of tensions caused by the foreign aircraft.

Many had speculated the Chinese balloon gathered intelligence from U.S. military sites as it roamed freely across the country from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 before being shot down over South Carolina.

US OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY SIGNIFICANCE OF INTEL CAPTURED BY CHINESE SPY CRAFT OVER AMERICAN SOIL

A pilot looks down upon a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 3, 2023. (U.S. Air Force)

According to several current and former U.S. officials in an April report, the Biden administration struggled to block the intelligence gathering of the Chinese spy balloon that ultimately fed information to Beijing in real time.

Last month, Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines told Fox News Digital that even briefings with intelligence officials left him with more questions than answers. 

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.  (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson)

On Feb. 9, Daines posed 10 questions for the Biden administration, including why the balloon was allowed to enter U.S. airspace, how close it got to Montana's Malmstrom Air Force Base and missile silos, and what other sensitive national security and military sites it flew over – all of which remain unanswered.