China accuses US of overreaction after it shot down high-altitude balloon

Beijing lodges formal complaint with US embassy over the incident

China has accused the US of “overreaction” and the “indiscriminate use of military force” in shooting down a Chinese balloon that traversed US airspace, saying that the move has damaged bilateral relations.

The Pentagon has described the high-altitude balloon as a surveillance aircraft able to manoeuvre and a US warplane shot it down on Saturday over the Atlantic Ocean after it had crossed the entire US. China has insisted it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course.