China rejects Trump accusations on COVID-19

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - China on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump’s accusations on the UN stage that it had “unleashed” coronavirus on the world.

Rebuffing Trump’s call for China to be held accountable for the pandemic, Zhang Jun, Beijing’s ambassador to the UN, said: “China resolutely rejects the baseless accusations.”

Earlier, Trump, reiterating widely rejected claims that seem designed to win over conservative US voters ahead of November’s presidential election, branded COVID-19 “the Chinese virus” in his address to the 75th UN General Assembly, held virtually due to the pandemic.

In his own address to the UN General Assembly, Chinese President Xi Jinping told urged UN member-states to avoid “politicization” of the virus, saying: “We humans are battling COVID-19. People of different countries have come together, demonstrating courage, resolve and compassion. The virus will be defeated. Humanity will win this battle.”

Xi added: “We should see each other as members of the same big family, pursue win-win cooperation, and rise above ideological disputes and do not fall into the trap of ‘clash of civilizations’.”

He called COVID-19 the major “test of the governance capacity of countries” and “also a test of the global governance system. We should stay true to multilateralism and safeguard the international system with the UN at its core.”

“China is the largest developing country in the world… A country that is committed to peaceful, open, cooperative and common development. We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence. We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a hot war with any country,” Xi added.

He said that China will continue to “narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation.”

“We do not seek to develop only ourselves or engage in zero-sum game. We will not pursue development behind closed doors,” he added.

Xi also announced $50 million in additional funds to the UN COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan.