China's leading diplomat Wang Yi
Munich: China called the United States' reaction, stating Chinese balloons as spy probe, as "hysterical and absurd", Asian News International reported.
China's leading diplomat Wang Yi said that there were many balloons from many countries in the sky and wondered whether the US wanted to down all of them. Talking at the Munich Security Conference, he said that Beijing urged the US not to do such "preposterous things" just to divert attention from its domestic issues.
More than a week ago, US President Joe Biden said that the United States would act to protect if Beijing threatens its sovereignty.
"I am committed to working with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world. But make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did," Biden said in his State of the Union Address then.
The US military had downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean a week before his said address. This invited a strong reaction from China which warned of repercussions over America's use of force against its civilian unmanned airship.
The US has accused China of violating American sovereignty and international law.
"Let's be clear: winning the competition with China should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. But in the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker," he said in his second State of the Union Address before a Joint Session of the US Congress.