China's National People's Congress has issued a statement opposing a US Congressional resolution that condemned China for a balloon incident.

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

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

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

The statement says the US 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 US Congress to "immediately stop maligning China, and refrain from taking actions that could only escalate the situation."