BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday refuted U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's questioning of China's transparency in handling the COVID-19 epidemic, saying his remarks showed no respect towards Chinese people's great efforts and sacrifice.

Pompeo's unsubstantiated remarks were entirely for the purpose of shifting the blame on others, spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press briefing, adding that the remarks have run counter to the consensus of the international community.

Pompeo said in an interview Thursday that the Chinese government was aware of the first cases of COVID-19 "maybe as early as November."

"Mr. Pompeo should not think he can arbitrarily frame others with a 'maybe'," Geng said.

Geng said China has always acted in an open, transparent and responsible manner in the face of COVID-19, and has reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization, shared the genome sequence of the virus with other countries and carried out international cooperation on epidemic prevention and control all "at the earliest possible time," which were "undisputed facts."

While giving a brief review of some crucial junctures in China's fight against the epidemic, Geng said the groundless suspicion of China's transparency was disrespectful to the tremendous efforts and sacrifice of the Chinese people.

He urged some U.S. individuals to respect science, facts and international consensus and stop smearing other countries, adding that the priority for the United States is to focus on its domestic prevention and control and strengthen international anti-pandemic cooperation, rather than confuse public opinions and shift the blames.