China on Monday rejected President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s assertion that it had stolen an unmanned drone in the South China Sea last week.

“We don’t like the word ‘steal’ — the word is absolutely inaccurate,” said Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Bloomberg.

“This is just like you found a thing on the street, and you have to take a look and investigate it to see if the thing belongs to one who wants it back,” she added.

Trump tweeted about the seizure several times over the weekend, calling it an “unprecedented act.”

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“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act,” Trump wrote on Twitter early Saturday.

Later in the day, after China said it would return the drone, Trump suggested that China should keep it.

“We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!” Trump tweeted.

A spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry accused the United States of exaggerating the incident over the weekend and criticized U.S. surveillance activities.

“China firmly opposes such acts and demands the US cease such activities. China will stay alert over relevant US activities and will take necessary measures to counter them,” Sr. Col. Yang Yujun said.