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In an interview with Politico before departing for a high-profile security conference in Germany, vice-president Kamala Harris downplayed the spy balloon's impact on Washington's relationship with China.

We seek competition, but not conflict or confrontation," she said in the interview ahead of the Munich Security Conference, where she'll meet with leaders of allies including Germany's Olaf Scholz and Britain's Rishi Sunak. Everything that has happened in the last week and a half is, we believe, very consistent with our stated approach," Harris continued, noting she'd told Chinese president Xi Jinping of Washington's policy during a brief meeting last November.