China refutes US unwarranted comments on its cooperation with WHO

Beijing

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said since the United States has already declared withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday made the remarks when responding to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments on China's cooperation with the WHO on tracing the origin of the virus.

China and the WHO have been in close communication and cooperation since the epidemic broke out, Zhao said. Now China is undertaking an arduous task of preventing both case import and domestic resurgence, and China is the first to invite WHO experts to discuss science-based origin tracing.

"It is our contribution to global public health cooperation as a responsible major country," Zhao said.

By contrast, the United States has been shirking its own responsibilities and undermining global solidarity in combating the virus by declaring to exit the WHO, politicizing matters related to the pandemic and smearing others.

Since it already declared withdrawal from the WHO, the United States is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO, Zhao said. "If the United States truly cares about global efforts against the pandemic, the first thing it needs to do is to fulfill its due international responsibilities and obligations and cooperate with the WHO in ways like inviting WHO experts to trace the source of the virus in the United States."