U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to protect U.S. sovereignty in the face of a threat by China in his second State of the Union Address on Tuesday.

Biden made the remark in his speech after saying that he is “committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world” while assessing that the U.S. is “in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world.”

Though Biden did not elaborate on what would constitute a threat by China, the comment was interpreted to be a reference to the Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed U.S. airspace before being shot down by a fighter jet last Saturday.

Stressing that democracies have become stronger and autocracies have grown weaker, Biden said “bridges are forming between partners in the Pacific and those in the Atlantic,” adding that “those who bet against America are learning just how wrong they are” and “it’s never a good bet to bet against America.”

On the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden said “Putin’s invasion has been a test for the ages;” a test for the U.S. and for the world.

Meanwhile, Biden made no mention of North Korea in his speech.