Beijing,February 16 (AseanAll)  — China's National People's Congress has issued a statement opposing a United States Congressional resolution that condemned China for a balloon incident.

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously adopted the resolution on February 9, condemning the incursion by a Chinese surveillance balloon across much of the U.S. mainland this month as a brazen violation of U.S. sovereignty.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress said in a statement on February 16 that the U.S. resolution deliberately exaggerated the "China threat".

The statement reiterates China's stance that the flying object was a civilian unmanned airship that unintentionally entered U.S. airspace.

It says the U.S. insisted on using force in the incident, seriously violating the spirit of international law and norms.

The statement stresses that it is the United States that conducts extensive surveillance on other countries.

It calls on the U.S. Congress to "immediately stop maligning China, and refrain from taking actions that could only escalate the situation."