Despite reaching out to Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe through a special crisis line, the Chinese official declined the call, leaving Austin's efforts unanswered.
After promising preliminary numbers, it now appears final that Tesla deliveries in China continued to buck the larger national trend of sales for January.
President Joe Biden says he gave his authorization to shoot down a Chinese high altitude balloon a day after he was first briefed on the suspicious device, which was hovering over sensitive US military sites, but defense officials convinced him to wait until it was safe for people on the ground.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his planned trip to Beijing after a Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted over the mainland of the United States.