Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China said on Thursday that it strongly condemns and opposes to the US House of Representatives passing a so-called resolution over the Chinese balloon incident, which is ill-intentioned hype and political manipulation, and which deliberately exaggerates the "threat of China."

China is a responsible country that strictly abides by international law, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country, the committee said. 

The Chinese civilian unmanned airship straying into the US airspace was completely accidental due to force majeure, and it did not pose any threat to US personnel and safety.

In a responsible manner, China briefed the US and the international community on the situation as soon as possible, and asked the US to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner. However, the US insisted on using force and deliberately hyped on the situation, which seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice, the committee noted. 

The House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution condemning "China's use of the suspected surveillance balloon" that was shot down by US jets recently, CNN reported on February 9. 

The measure passed unanimously with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 419 to zero, and the resolution serves as a symbolic rebuke of the Chinese government and is not binding legislatively, according to a US media report. 

Some politicians in US Congress are using the incident to further fan the flames of bilateral tensions, which fully exposed their ulterior anti-China motives, the committee under China's top legislature said. In fact, it is the US that blatantly interferes in other countries' internal affairs, violates their sovereignty, and conducts surveillance activities on other countries, it noted. 

We strongly urge the US Congress to respect the facts, respect the spirit of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, immediately stop the wrong practice of smearing China, and refrain from taking actions that may escalate the situation, the committee added.