Beijing ? China said Sunday it was concerned about U.S. plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite that is hurtling toward Earth with 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel.

The U.S. military has said it hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week – just before it enters Earth’s atmosphere – with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao as saying China was monitoring the situation and has urged the U.S. to avoid causing damages to security in outer space and in other countries.

“Relevant departments of China are closely watching the situation and working out preventive measures,” Liu said. Xinhua did not elaborate.

Russia also has voiced worries about the U.S. plan to shoot down the satellite, saying it may be a veiled test of America’s missile defense system.

Left alone, the satellite would likely hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft would be expected to survive the fall and would scatter debris over several hundred miles.