Photo: VCG

The US is guilty of "three sins" in its COVID-19 response and origin-tracing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Thursday, responding to media about China's comment on the disappointing and irresponsible pandemic response from the US, which has the world's highest number of infections and deaths from COVID-19.

First, the US has allowed the virus to spread unchecked, Zhao said at a regular press conference on Thursday.

A global leader in medical technology, the US has let political manipulation override epidemic control, leading to the infection of some 35 million Americans and the loss of lives of more than 610,000, Zhao said.

The US has failed to exercise effective outbound travel control measures and many countries have reported imported cases from the US, said Zhao. The US has also sped up the repatriation of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants infected with COVID-19 which exacerbated the pandemic situation in many Latin American countries, he added.

Second, the US has hidden the truth from the world, Zhao said. 

Research by the University of Washington suggests that the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the US could be as high as 65 million and 900,000 respectively, far higher than official statistics, he mentioned.

While the timeline of early cases in the US has been constantly dialed forward, and Fort Detrick is shrouded with suspicion, the US still mentions nothing about whether it plans to invite the WHO to Fort Detrick and other biological labs. "Is this the 'transparent and responsible' attitude that the US has been preaching?" Zhao asked.

Third, the US has been practicing terrorism under the pretext of tracing the origins of the pandemic, said Zhao.

Ever since the previous US administration coined the term "Chinese virus," the US has not stopped trying to sell stories that stigmatize China, Zhao said. The US attempts to link the origins of the virus with China or other Asian countries, which has caused rising anti-Asian sentiment in the US and other countries in the West, he said.

The US also plays dirty tricks on the scientific community, stifling the righteous voice of scientists, subjecting many outspoken scientists to verbal abuse and threat of physical assaults, Zhao said, adding that "some media compare such behaviors of the US with acts of terrorism." 

These three sins are just the tip of the iceberg of the political manipulation conducted by the US, according to Zhao.

"COVID-19 needs to be traced to its source, and so does the political virus, which needs to be thoroughly dealt with as some take advantage of the pandemic to shift the blame and blatantly engage in discrimination and coercion." Zhao noted.