US and China Foreign Ministers Clash Over COVID-19 Blame in Phone Call... Widening US-China Relations Gap

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The United States and China, which had a contentious trade war last year, are now engaged in sharp exchanges over the spread of COVID-19.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 17th, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau responsible for foreign affairs in China, held a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the previous day and urged him to immediately stop blaming China for the spread of COVID-19.

Yang said, "Some American politicians are belittling China's COVID-19 prevention efforts and stigmatizing China, which has provoked strong anger among the Chinese people," adding, "China strongly opposes and condemns these actions by the United States. The U.S. must promptly correct its wrongful behavior and cease baseless accusations against China." He warned, "Any attempt to smear China will not succeed," and "Actions that harm China's interests will face a strong counterattack from China." Furthermore, he stated, "China has openly and transparently shared COVID-19 related information with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States, and countries around the world. The international community highly values China's actions and clearly recognizes that through the efforts of the Chinese people, the world has gained valuable time to engage in prevention work."

Yang's explicit warning reflects the Chinese government's discomfort with U.S. politicians, including Secretary Pompeo, who blame China for the spread of COVID-19 and repeatedly use terms like 'Chinese Virus' or 'Wuhan Virus' instead of the official name. Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV) did not report what Pompeo said to Yang during the phone call, but based on Pompeo's remarks reported by U.S. media, it is inferred that the conversation between the two foreign ministers was quite a sharp exchange.

The U.S. political news outlet The Hill reported that during the call, Secretary Pompeo warned Yang not to spread rumors related to the spread of COVID-19. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said, "Secretary Pompeo expressed strong opposition to Yang Jiechi regarding China's efforts to shift blame for COVID-19 onto the United States," adding, "Now is not the time to spread misinformation and bizarre rumors; rather, it is a time for all countries to fight this common threat together." In a separate Twitter post, Pompeo wrote, "Chinese government officials are promoting misinformation and bizarre rumors," and "I spoke with Yang Jiechi about the misinformation and rumors spreading through China today. The United States is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and China must acknowledge its role and be part of the solution."

The 'misinformation and bizarre rumors' mentioned by Secretary Pompeo refer to recent claims by Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who, without clear evidence, suggested that "the U.S. military may have brought COVID-19 to Wuhan," and Chinese media have echoed this, reporting that the origin of COVID-19 might be in the United States rather than China.

The conservative and hardline state-run newspaper Huanqiu Shibao has repeatedly criticized the U.S. for its failure to respond to COVID-19 through editorials and expert analyses, arguing that the origin of COVID-19 might not be China. In response, the U.S. State Department summoned the Chinese ambassador to the United States to strongly protest China's claims.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.