Chinese ambassador urges U.S. to end blame game, focus on COVID-19 response

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai delivers a speech in Washington DC, the United States, Nov. 21, 2019. (File photo: Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai on Tuesday called on U.S. politicians to end the blame-China game and focus on tackling the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed over 70,000 Americans.

"Blaming China will not end this pandemic. On the contrary, the mind-set risks decoupling China and the United States and hurting our efforts to fight the disease, our coordination to reignite the global economy, our ability to conquer other challenges and our prospects of a better future. The United States would not emerge as a winner from this scenario," Cui said in an opinion piece published Tuesday night by The Washington Post.

"It is time to end the blame game. It is time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries. As President Abraham Lincoln called for 'the better angels' in his inauguration speech, I hope that the wisdom of preceding generations will guide us to choose the right side of history and work for our shared future together," he said.

Behind the mindset of "always blame China" is "a kind of dirty politics, championed by a few people who shift the spotlight for political gain," Cui said.

"In their manipulation, China has to be wrong" regardless of the facts that China has since January fought a tough battle against the disease, spared no expense to save lives and made remarkable progress, Cui said.

"There is no denying that the first known case of covid-19 was reported in Wuhan. But this means only that Wuhan was the first victim of the virus. To ask a victim for compensation is simply ridiculous," Cui said, adding, "If that made sense, then who was to compensate for the fatalities of the H1N1 flu and HIV/AIDS? Who was to pay for the huge losses caused by the 2008 financial crisis?"

Refuting some U.S. politicians' unfounded accusations about China's response to the pandemic, the ambassador said China has taken strict measures and made huge sacrifices to keep the virus in check, which not only saved lives at home but also bought precious time for the world.

Besides, China has done its best to share information about the virus, Cui said.

On Dec. 27, a doctor in Hubei province reported three suspicious cases. In the following four days, local and central governments conducted investigations on the ground, he said.

Within a week, China began briefing the WHO, the United States and other countries about the outbreak, he said, adding on Jan. 12, China released the whole genome sequence of the coronavirus, which has proved critical for diagnosis and treatment of the disease globally.

Also, China shared information with the United States at the earliest possible time and have been supporting its fight against the disease, Cui said.

He said the two countries' centers for disease control and prevention and government agencies have been in close communication since Jan. 4, the day after China briefed the WHO. In their phone calls, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave detailed accounts of China's measures to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Cui added that by April 29, China had provided, according to China's customs figures, over 4 billion masks to the United States, or roughly 14 for every American on average.