This archive report was first published on 7 May 2020.
On May 7, 2020, China's foreign ministry responded to US President Donald Trump's comments on the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the US of trying to shift blame.
Tensions between the world's two largest economies have been escalating in recent days, with both sides exchanging barbed comments on each other's handling of the virus.
At a press briefing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged the US to stop shifting the blame to China and focus on facts.
Trump had earlier compared the pandemic to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, saying it was the 'worst attack we've ever had.'
He also claimed that the pandemic 'should never have happened' and could have been stopped in China.
However, Hua responded by saying that the enemy facing the US was the novel coronavirus, not China, and that Washington should be working with Beijing to combat the pandemic rather than as 'enemies.'
She also pointed out that many foreign countries, experts, and scientists have praised China's efforts in preventing and controlling the virus, while the US has made 'disharmonious, untruthful, and insincere' remarks.
