BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes the United States' fabrication of lies and groundless accusations against China, motivated by shady political purposes, at the United Nations (UN) podium, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
"Facts have proven once again that unilateralism and bullying are the most serious threats facing the world," Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing in response to a U.S. leader's remarks about China at the general debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
"Lies can in no way replace truth. China's COVID-19 response efforts are clearly recorded, and people will make fair judgments," said Wang, adding China reported the epidemic, identified the pathogen and shared its genome sequence with the world all at the earliest possible time.
Wang said after confirming the human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus, China immediately made the resolute decision to shut all exit routes from Wuhan, and imposed the most stringent controls on the exit routes from Wuhan and Hubei Province.
Furthermore, China's customs authorities promptly halted, in accordance with the law, overseas travel by Chinese people belonging to four groups, namely confirmed cases, suspected cases, close contacts with the former two and people with a fever, he added.
Wang pointed out when China closed the exit channels from Wuhan on Jan. 23, only nine confirmed cases were identified outside China, of which only one was in the United States.
On Jan. 31, the United States suspended direct flights to and from China. When the United States closed its borders to all Chinese citizens on Feb. 2, only a dozen confirmed cases were reported in the United States, he said.
"China's COVID-19 response efforts have been open and transparent with a clear timeline. The facts and figures are an open book for all to see," said the spokesperson.
It is "utterly futile" for the United States to level groundless accusations against China concerning the pandemic in an attempt to shift blame for its mishandling of the virus onto others, Wang said.
The United States' arbitrary attacks on and withdrawal from the World Health Organization have jeopardized global anti-epidemic cooperation, which will bring harm to people around the world and see the American people incur a heavy cost, he added.
"It is imperative for the United States to cease its political manipulations and put an end to labeling or politicizing the virus, and join the rest of the international community in this common fight, rather than scapegoat or smear others," said Wang. Enditem
