Envoy, ministry slam US stigmatization
White House ‘uses UN podium to disregard facts, tell lies and act out of ulterior political motives’
China resolutely rejects the “baseless accusation” against it and opposes the “political virus”, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun said following US President Donald Trump’s criticism of China’s handling of COVID-19 at the UN General Assembly on Sept 22.
“Lies repeated a thousand times are still lies. US accusations against China are completely baseless and cannot fool anyone,” he said.
“China, with an open, transparent and responsible attitude, has been providing updates and sharing experience with the WHO and other countries from the very beginning and providing active assistance to many countries, including the United States,” Zhang said.
As first to face the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, China had made great efforts and enormous sacrifices in response, and managed to bring the situation under control within a short period of time.
Zhang, the ambassador to the UN, said: “The US noise is incompatible with the general atmosphere of the General Assembly. When the international community is going all out to fight COVID-19, the US is spreading a political virus.
“In the past two days, more than 120 leaders, president of the General Assembly, and secretary-general of the United Nations made statements in the august hall of the General Assembly. Overwhelming majority of countries called for efforts to uphold multilateralism, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and jointly tackle global challenges,” he said.
This is unequivocal rejection of unilateralism and bullying practices, which represents the consensus of the international community and the wish of people across the world, Zhang added.
The world is confronted with the severe challenges of COVID-19. There are also the problems of unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practices, said Zhang. “The world is at a crossroads at this moment. The world needs more solidarity and cooperation, but not confrontation. We need to increase mutual confidence and trust, but not the spreading of political virus.”
No matter what others say, China will firmly support multilateralism and the UN to play its central role in international affairs, said Zhang.
“For the US, the most urgent task is to contain the virus, save lives and fix its own problems. Some US politicians’ blame-shifting and scapegoating attempts will not get back the time lost or solve any problem,” Zhang said.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Sept 23 stressed that China resolutely opposes the US utilizing the podium of the UN to disregard facts, tell lies, act out of ulterior political motives and blame and stigmatize China on a groundless basis.
In a statement responding to China-related remarks made by the US leader at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Wang said facts have once again shown unilateralism and bullying prove to be the most serious threats facing the world.
Wang said China’s fight against COVID-19 is transparent, and the US attacking and quitting the World Health Organization endangers global cooperation against the pandemic and will exact a price from the US public.
He also questioned Washington’s credibility in raising the climate change issue, given that the country has withdrawn from some international protocols targeting global warming and carbon emissions.
Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said: “The US has been playing the blame game and shifting the responsibility on others, which has distracted its focus and eventually given more leeway to the virus.”
Ruan warned that ideological prejudices have developed into a “political virus” during the pandemic.
“For example, some politicians are keen to play the blame game and shift responsibilities on others, which has seriously exacerbated the potential conflicts among major countries,” he said.
“Protecting people’s lives is of the highest priority, and human security stands above everything,” Ruan said.