China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has said his country is a “victim” of the coronavirus pandemic and denied claims of a cover-up.
President Trump has repeatedly accused China and the World Health Organisation of hiding information when the virus first came to light and preventing other countries around the world from being prepared.
He insisted the COVID-19 outbreak was not China’s fault and promised a “transparent” inquiry into the origin, but “not now”.
He told Sky News: “You can’t have this campaign of stigmatising, disinformation and smear against China, as some American politicians are doing. It is not OK to say the virus originated in China, it is a matter of science. It is up to the scientists not for you, me or politicians. You can’t blame China. China is a victim, China is not a culprit of this virus. It is not a man-made virus, it is natural in origin so we have to adopt a scientific approach. We are open, we are transparent, we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. We welcome an international independent review but it has to be organised by the WHO. It should be international.”