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UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES (AFP) – China on Thursday (September 24) lashed out at the United States at a high-level UN meeting for its criticism of the coronavirus, with its envoy declaring: “Enough is enough!”
Two days after President Donald Trump used his annual speech to the General Assembly to attack China’s record, his ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, harshly criticized the United States’ role in global affairs.
“I must say, enough is enough! They have already created enough problems for the world,” he told a Security Council meeting on global governance attended by several heads of state by videoconference.
“The United States has nearly seven million confirmed cases and more than 200,000 deaths so far. With the world’s most advanced medical systems and technologies, why does the United States have the most confirmed cases and deaths?” she asked in English.
“If anyone has to be held accountable, it should be a few American politicians.”
Using a phrase that American leaders often say to China, Zhang said, “The United States must understand that a great power must behave like a great power.”
The United States “is completely isolated,” he said in remarks enthusiastically backed by his Russian counterpart.
Speaking earlier in the session, US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft expressed her anger at the tone.
“You know, the shame of each of you. I am amazed and disgusted by the content of today’s discussion,” said Craft.
“In fact, I am quite ashamed of this Council, Council members who took this opportunity to focus on political grudges rather than the critical issue at hand. My God.”
Trump in his speech on Tuesday had demanded action against China for spreading the Covid-19 “plague” to the world.
China suppressed news about the respiratory disease when it first emerged last year in Wuhan and the initial advice downplayed the risks of transmission.
China’s communist leaders have more recently tried to transform the narrative into one of the country’s success in stopping the virus.
Trump’s response to the pandemic, which he has provocatively called the “China virus,” has become a major political issue as he seeks a new term in the Nov.3 election.
AFRICANS SEEK DEBT RELIEF
With concerns that Covid will change global travel, the UN General Assembly went virtual for its annual extravaganza, which typically brings 10,000 people to a congested section of downtown Manhattan.
Several African leaders used their virtual speeches before the General Assembly to call for more international aid, fearing that Covid would impede development.
“Our nations are asking for financial support that rises to the level of the economic crisis they are witnessing,” Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said.
“Just a debt moratorium will not be enough to meet the challenges that have arisen. We simply have to cancel the debt completely,” he said, reiterating a call made on Tuesday by his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi.
The Group of 20 major economies suspended debt payments for the poorest nations in mid-April until the end of the year, as they face significant budget deficits due to the closure of Covid-19.
The African Union seeks to extend the moratorium until 2021, warning of the dire economic effects of the health crisis.
“This pandemic could erase more than a decade of economic growth and social progress achieved by the African continent,” said Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.
Despite economic concerns, Africa has been one of the regions least affected in terms of health by Covid-19, with the continent reporting 1.8 million cases and 34,500 deaths.
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