Beijing: Ratcheting up further tensions between the two nations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the US of spreading “conspiracies and lies” about the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC reported.
“Some politicians completely disregard basic facts and have fabricated too many lies targeting China, and plotted too many conspiracies,” the BBC quoted Wang as saying.
“Aside from the devastation caused by the novel coronavirus, there is also a political virus spreading through the US,” Wang said at an annual news conference during China’s parliamentary session.
“This political virus is the use of every opportunity to attack and smear China,” he added.
He urged the US to “stop wasting time and stop wasting precious lives” in its response to the Covid-19 outbreak and called for co-operation between Washington and Beijing in tackling the virus.
“Both of us bear a major responsibility for world peace and development… China and the US stand to gain from co-operation, and lose from confrontation.”
Sino-US ties have nosedived since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, with President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping repeatedly trading barbs over issues related to the pandemic.
The two behemoths have also clashed over Hong Kong, human rights, trade and US support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
US President Donald Trump, who faces re-election this year and has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic, has blamed China for trying to cover up the outbreak.
