The Chinese government has always maintained close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, at a regular media briefing on Friday.

The global response to the outbreak should be based on facts rather than speculations, noted Ryan.

Ryan made the remarks in response to Larry Kudlow, a White House economic adviser's accusations of a lack of transparency in Beijing's response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.

Calling the accusations "opinions and speculations," he stressed that China had shared the genetic sequences of the coronavirus with the world and has continually communicated with other countries.

"From our perspective, we have a government that's cooperating with us… I'm finding it hard to square that with Mr. Kudlow's comments," Ryan told reporters in Geneva.

Click here for video of this presser. 

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