China has claimed the balloon flying over the U.S. as its own. Here's everything you need to know.

China has claimed responsibility for a balloon spotted over Montana, apologizing and stating it was used for weather research.

“The airship is from China,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday morning. “It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the U.S. side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”

“We are aware of [China’s] statement. However, the fact is we know it’s a surveillance balloon, and I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that,” Defense Department press secretary Patrick Ryder said during Friday afternoon’s briefing. “We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable, and we’ve conveyed that to [China] at multiple levels.”

Ryder said that the balloon had moved over the center of the country and that the assessment was it currently posed no physical or military threat to civilians on the ground.

The Pentagon announced Thursday that a surveillance balloon it believed belonged to China was floating over Montana. The news came days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Beijing, the highest-ranking member of the Biden administration to visit the superpower.

Following China’s statement, the State Department announced that Blinken was postponing the visit, saying they had noted China’s “statement of regret but conveyed that this is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip.”

“The Secretary explained that in light of this ongoing issue, it would not be appropriate to visit Beijing at this time,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. “He underscored that the United States is committed to diplomatic engagement and maintaining open lines of communication, and that he would be prepared to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allow.”

About the balloon

At a briefing Thursday, the Pentagon said the balloon had been observed via multiple methods, including piloted aircraft, for a number of days. A senior defense official said it wasn’t shot down because of concerns about the damage that could cause. CNN reported that the balloon was the size of three buses.