国内英语资讯:China urges U.S. to shoulder obligations to WHO, not shift blame_时事

国内英语资讯:China urges U.S. to shoulder obligations to WHO, not shift blame

BEIJING, May 19 -- China on Tuesday urged some politicians in the United States to stop shifting blame to others and cooperate with the international community to jointly defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press conference when he was asked to comment on a letter published on Twitter by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a letter to the Director-General the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a copy of which was published by Trump on Twitter Monday, the president threatened that the United States will permanently cut off its funding to WHO if the latter does not commit to what he called "substantive improvements within the next 30 days."

"China has chronologically expounded our work of prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease many times," said Zhao, adding that the WHO has also clarified the mistakes in the U.S. accusation.

He said the U.S. leader's letter is an attempt to mislead the public vaguely and to smear China, as well as shirking its own responsibility. This is nothing but a futile attempt, he added.

As COVID-19 is still spreading in the United States and other parts of the world, unity and cooperation, saving lives and economic recovery remain the most pressing tasks, Zhao said.

He added that the proportion and standard of assessed contributions are confirmed by all WHO member states and it is a legally binding obligation for all member states to pay their assessed contributions on time and in full.