The Pentagon reported that the Chinese spy balloon that flew over sensitive U.S. military sites earlier this year did not gather or transmit any information before it was shot down off the Carolina coast. The balloon had commercially available U.S.-made equipment, as well as specialized Chinese sensors and other gear. The Wall Street Journal first reported on this inventive surveillance attempt by Beijing. While the Pentagon spokesperson did not confirm the presence of U.S. components on the balloon, he acknowledged that foreign militaries have used off-the-shelf U.S. equipment in the past. The Pentagon determined that the balloon did not collect any information while passing over or flying over the United States, although it did have intelligence collection capabilities. Defense officials had taken measures to limit the balloon’s ability to gather sensitive information. The balloon’s incursion strained the U.S.-China relationship further, resulting in Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a scheduled meeting in Beijing. The U.S. administration views the balloon as part of a larger Chinese surveillance program targeting multiple countries. According to David Stilwell, reports of U.S. components being used on the balloon should serve as a reminder of the Chinese Communist Party’s true intent. Stilwell hopes American companies will reconsider exporting sensitive technology to China to avoid being complicit in Chinese espionage efforts and keeping sensitive technologies out of Chinese hands. Some lawmakers have also urged the U.S. not to renew a bilateral science and technology cooperation deal, expressing concerns about aiding China in developing technologies that could be used against the United States.