China denies cover-up, rejects 'politicization' of coronavirus
China lambasted recommendations that it hid information regarding the coronavirus outbreak, saying in a newly published white paper that it has acted transparently and informed the world of developments regularly.
"Some foreign politicians and media have presumed guilt for the foundation of the virus, put labels on the virus and politicized the epidemic," Xu Lin, head of State Council Information Office, said at a briefing in Beijing on Sunday, reports Bloomberg. "The fabricated assumptions - like the 'China origins of the virus', 'China concealed the virus' and 'it's China's responsibility' - are utterly baseless, unreasonable and disrespectful of science."
With almost 400,000 deaths globally, the Covid-19 pandemic has turned into a point of tension in China's relationship with a number of countries, most notably the united states. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly faulted China for having didn't support the coronavirus when addressing the outbreak in the United States, which now leads the world in both infections and deaths. China has adamantly defended its actions.
It has additionally sent medical supplies and doctors to countries battling infections, with President Xi Jinping pledging to create any Chinese-developed vaccine a "global public good". Concurrently, Beijing has sought to cast doubt on the idea that the virus started in China, with a foreign ministry official having promoted conspiracy theories that linked the outbreak to the united states military.
The white paper published on Sunday by the State Council Council Information Office describes as a "calculated slur" accusations that China concealed info on the virus or that it didn't disclose the actual number of deaths. In addition, it says Beijing shared information in "clear and unambiguous terms" but that was ignored by certain countries. which now seek at fault China because of their own failures.
"While certain countries madly defame China with every conceivable means to shed their own responsibilities, China must firmly fight back against the shifting of blame," Ma Zhaoxu, deputy foreign minister, said at the briefing.Though neither the white paper nor the Chinese officials who spoke at the briefing mentioned the US by name, the criticism leveled on Sunday did may actually address Washington's actions.
Trump and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have suggested a connection between the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which runs a laboratory that studies dangerous pathogens in the location where the virus first emerged, and the outbreak.
Pompeo said earlier this month that there is "enormous evidence" to trace the virus back to the laboratory.China has dismissed the allegation as "pure fabrication" and characterised US assertions as an election-year strategy to deflect attention from the US's poor handling of its outbreak.
Meanwhile, the white paper pledges that China will continue steadily to provide you with the international market with materials to fight the outbreak, including pharmaceutical goods, daily necessities and other supplies.
The nation will continue to open its markets, expand imports and outbound investment, and contribute further to other countries' fight the virus and also to a stable world economy.Deputy Foreign Minister Ma also argued that China's relationship with most countries has actually become "more stabilized" through the pandemic."The relationship with this friends is closer and our circle of friends has expanded," he said.
