The US representative to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, criticized China for what she said was “a decision to conceal the origins of this virus, reduce its danger and suppress scientific cooperation.” Kraft claimed that Beijing’s actions “turned the local epidemic into a global pandemic.”
Zhang Jun of China quickly rejected Kraft’s characterization of events.
“I must say, that’s enough. I’ve already created enough problems for the world,” Zhang said.
“Unfortunately, we once again heard voices from the United States that interfered with the atmosphere of the meeting.”
Zhang added that Beijing rejected the “baseless” accusations.
The spat came two days after US President Donald Trump used much of a pre-recorded video speech to the General Assembly to blame China for the Covid-19 pandemic and withhold information on the virus.
On Tuesday, Trump accused Beijing of “allowing flights to leave China and infecting the world,” and referred to Covid-19 as “China virus” on Tuesday.
The Russian actor also criticized Kraft’s accusations at Thursday’s hearing.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said: “We regret the fact that the representative of the United States chose this meeting and the forum of the UN Security Council to make an unfounded accusation against a member of the Security Council.”
Covid-19 was looming hard at this year’s summit, which was imposed on the internet due to the pandemic and 14-day quarantine regulations in New York City.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly called for unity among member states and warned on Thursday that the relationship between the United States and China is moving “in a very dangerous direction.”
In practice, the Security Council meeting took place on Thursday.
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