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The United States representative to the UN, Kelly Craft, criticized China for what she said was a “decision to hide the origins of this virus, minimize its danger, and suppress scientific cooperation.” Craft claimed that Beijing’s actions “transformed a local epidemic into a global pandemic.”
Zhang Jun from China quickly rejected the characterization of Craft’s events.
“I must say, enough is enough. You have already created enough trouble for the world,” Zhang said.
“Unfortunately, we have once again heard noises from the United States that are so at odds with the atmosphere of the meeting.”
Zhang added that Beijing rejected the “unfounded” accusations.
The dispute came two days after US President Donald Trump used much of his pre-recorded video address to the General Assembly to blame China for the Covid-19 pandemic and for hiding information about the virus.
On Tuesday, Trump accused Beijing of “allowing the flights to leave China and infect the world” and referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus” on Tuesday.
The Russian representative in Thursday’s session also criticized Craft’s accusations.
“We regret the fact that the representative of the United States chose this meeting and the platform of the UN Security Council to make an unfounded accusation against one of the members of the Security Council,” said Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.
Covid-19 has risen to prominence at this year’s summit, which was forced to go online due to the pandemic and 14-day quarantine regulations in New York City.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has repeatedly called for unity among member states, warning on Thursday that the relationship between the United States and China was moving “in a very dangerous direction.”
Thursday’s Security Council meeting was held virtually.
