China: 'Evil' Pompeo 'Smeared China' to 'Shift the Blame' Away from America
CCP blast U.S. Secretary of State for calling out disinformation campaign
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China has reacted to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's accusation that Beijing is engaging in an “intentional disinformation campaign,” which is facilitating he spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
China’s state-run Global Times reported:
Pompeo went against the global consensus of recognizing China’s efforts in combating COVID-19 [coronavirus illness], smeared China’s efforts and stigmatized China in an attempt to divert the attention of Americans and shift the blame to China, which exposed his extremely evil intentions, Geng Shuang, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Thursday’s media briefing.
Shuang told reporters:
“This American politician continues to defy [the] global consensus, stigmatize China, and discredit its epidemic response."
“The sinister intention behind his attempt is to deflect attention at home and shift the blame to the innocent," he added.
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The foreign ministry spokesman engaged with reporters after Pompeo accused China of engaging in a coronavirus-related “disinformation campaign” this week.
Pompeo also referred to the disease as the “Wuhan virus,” provoking Beijing to accuse the secretary of branding China with the location of the virus's origin.
“We strongly condemn these remarks by Secretary Pompeo,” Shuang declared.
The spokesman then denied assertions by health experts that the virus originated in China’s Wuhan city:
As China has repeatedly pointed out, origin-tracing of the virus is a complicated matter, where we should rely on professional views from the science community. WHO [World Health Organization] and the international community explicitly object to linking the virus with specific countries or regions or seeking stigmatization. They have commended China’s response.
The Chinese Communist Party has accused President Donald Trump of racism for calling the disease the “Wuhan” or “Chinese” virus.
Earlier this week, Pompeo outlined China's reluctance to work with the US on combatting the virus.
REPORT: 80% of Virus Tests China Sent to Czech Republic May Have Been Faulty
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) March 27, 2020
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“We’ve wanted to work with the Chinese Communist Party throughout this crisis – this crisis that began in Wuhan, China,” Pompeo said.
“We tried – you’ll remember – from the opening days to get our scientists, our experts on the ground there so that we could begin to assist in the global response to what began there in China, but we weren’t able to do that. The Chinese Communist Party wouldn’t permit that to happen.”
Earlier this month, Neon Nettle reported the Chinese ambassador was summoned by the US State Department after a spokesperson with China’s foreign ministry suggested coronavirus was brought to Wuhan by the U.S. military.
The claim prompted Trump to start calling the coronavirus, the 'Chinese virus.'
The Chinese foreign ministry rubbished Pompeo’s assertions that China downplayed the coronavirus outbreak, echoing the position of several analysts.
“We urge the US side to respect facts and the public opinion of the international community and stop politicizing the pandemic and stigmatizing China,” the foreign ministry spokesman said.
