‘We are not the culprit’: Beijing tells US to stop blaming China for coronavirus pandemic
- Foreign ministry spokesman says global community should ‘stay united and cooperate’ to overcome the virus
- Beijing is under mounting pressure over its handling of the crisis, with calls for an independent inquiry
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the global community should work together instead of casting blame or demanding compensation.
“The international community can overcome the virus only if it can stay united and cooperate to make concerted efforts,” Geng told reporters in Beijing. “Attacking and discrediting other countries simply wastes time and cannot save lost lives.”
He added that people in the US should understand that their enemy is the virus, not China.
“China has been attacked by the virus and is also a victim of the virus. We are not the culprit, nor the accomplice of the virus,” he said.
Geng’s remarks come amid calls to investigate Beijing’s handling of the outbreak in Wuhan, central China, where the first cases of the new virus strain – which has killed more than 165,000 people and infected over 2.4 million worldwide – were reported in December.
US President Donald Trump told a coronavirus task force briefing on Sunday that the US was talking to China about sending a team of experts to the country to investigate.