World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at a daily briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, March 9, 2020. (Photo by Li Ye/Xinhua)

China values its cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and resolutely supports the WHO's leading role in the global fight against COVID-19, a Chinese health official said Friday.

"We have been sharing information about the epidemic with the WHO and international community in an open, transparent and responsible manner since the outbreak," Li Mingzhu with the National Health Commission said at a press conference in Beijing.

China established a mechanism for technical exchanges with experts of the WHO and held conferences for such communication on many occasions, Li said.

The country also invited WHO experts for field visits, he said.

WHO experts visited medical facilities including laboratories and had intensive discussions with local experts during a trip to Wuhan from Jan. 20 to 21.

From Feb. 16 to 24, the WHO-China Joint Mission came to understand China's epidemic situation, response, medical treatment and related scientific research and development, among other matters, with field trips to Beijing and the provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong and Hubei.

"The experts offered valuable and constructive suggestions on epidemic prevention and control to China and the rest of the world," Li said, refuting the groundless accusation that China rejected a WHO request to visit laboratories in Wuhan.