In a statement issued on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the U.S’s decision to bring down the balloon a “serious violation of international practice,” and added that Beijing “reserves the right to make further responses if necessary.” The Chinese Defense Ministry made a similar statement, calling the shooting an “obvious overreaction”.
The Global Times, the official mouthpiece of Chinese government published a statment said “The US used force to attack our civilian unmanned airship, which is an obvious overreaction. We express solemn protest against this move by the US side and reserve the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations.”