Editor's note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point."

As COVID-19 sweeps across the world, solidarity and cooperation have become an international consensus and are urgently needed in mankind's battle against the virus. Even at this critical time, there is still noise emanating from America that plays up ideas of a confrontation or the decoupling of relations between the U.S. and China, as well as the presence of destructive forces to bilateral collaboration in fighting the disease.

In a New York Times article, Steve Bannon, a former White House strategist and far-right populist, preached about the idea that the United States and China are in an "information hot war and an economic hot war." Furthermore, he claimed that China's government is an "existential threat to the Chinese people and to the world." Remarks such as these cater to the needs of some special interest groups in order to reap more political gains for Bannon, but also pose a great threat to U.S. society, especially when it is battling a virus.

U.S. leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that the country was likely to see millions of COVID-19 cases and between 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in this pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump also expressed his concerns, admitting that he'd never seen anything like it after seeing footage of body bags at a hospital near his native home in Queens, New York.

In the country, many people have been calling for cooperation with China as it can provide medical supplies, know-hows and lessons learnt in dealing with the virus. Kelly Magsamen, who used to serve as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, pointed out that Washington's blind emphasis on competition would weaken the efforts to contain the virus.

In their latest phone conversation, President Xi Jinping and President Trump reached a consensus that the two countries would jointly combat the outbreak. Trump promised to make a personal effort to ensure that the pair can ward off distractions and concentrate on cooperation against COVID-19.

To implement this consensus, China dispatched a planeload of healthcare supplies to New York over the weekend, which the U.S. leader said was "terrific," and more Chinese medical supplies are on the way. Americans should not pay the price for the irresponsible actions of some politicians. However, it does not mean those same politicians can abuse such goodwill and launch smear campaigns.

This behavior creates an unnecessary distraction in bilateral pandemic cooperation and should be avoided, as noted by President Trump. It not only endangers the health security of American citizens, but also leads to greater uncertainty in Sino-U.S. relations in the long run. Ultimately, it could harm the interests of the United States itself.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)