US local media reported Saturday that in a "national security effort", three US airports were shut down and a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the country's east coast.

The Chinese balloon, roughly the size of three buses, had been tracked in US airspace, the Pentagon said on Friday. The Chinese aircraft is believed to have surveillance capabilities.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cancelled his upcoming historic trip to Beijing as a sign of protest against the intrusion of US airspace by China.

China said on Friday an "airship" that is flying over the United States is for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes and expressed regret that it strayed into US airspace.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden released a short statement saying that "we will take care of it." Both the White House and the Pentagon said that the Chinese balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.