"China urges the United States to really focus on the international efforts in coping with and combating the pandemic, avoiding politicization of the pandemic issue, and to stop blaming and scapegoating practices," Zhang said on Tuesday at a Security Council meeting. "We also urge the United States to actively engage in the ongoing Security Council consultations and negotiations on the draft resolution concerning COVID-19."
Earlier in the month, the UN Security Council was not able to vote on a resolution that calls for a global fight against COVID-19, following US objection.
The draft calls for increased international coordination and an immediate halt to hostilities in all countries amid the COVID-19 crisis. It also mentions the World Health Organization, which had been accused by US President Donald Trump of being "China-centric" and botching the COVID-19 outbreak response.
Zhang was responding to remarks made earlier by US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kelly Craft, in which she urged China to "validate its claims of global leadership."
Craft called on China to support authorization of cross-border aid delivery mechanism into northeast Syria in order to allow the United Nations to combat the pandemic there.