U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the COVID-19 pandemic shows the need to overhaul the World Health Organization (WHO), warning that Washington may never restore WHO funding, and could even work to set up an alternative to the UN body instead.

As Pompeo launched fresh attacks on the WHO, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives accused the administration of President Donald Trump of trying to "scapegoat" the institution to distract from its own handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a letter to Trump, they called for the immediate restoration of U.S. funding, which Trump suspended last week over its handling of the pandemic. 

Pompeo told Fox News late on Wednesday there needed to be "a structural fix of the WHO" to correct its "shortcomings."

Asked if he was urging a change in leadership of the WHO, Pompeo replied: "Even more than that, it may be the case that the United States can never return to underwriting, having U.S. taxpayer dollars go to the WHO."

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced regret soon after, "this is a time for all of us to be united," he said. On Thursday, China said it would donate an additional 30 million U.S. dollars on top of the original 20 million dollars.

U.S. allies, or not, line up to condemn fund suspension

Trump's decision also drew immediate criticisms by the country's long-term European allies. 

The European Commission, again, voiced its support to the WHO while saying that they would look into what it and its member states could do in response to the U.S. move. "This is the time for solidarity, not for finger-pointing or undermining multilateral co-operation," the Commission said.

In Germany, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that "apportion blame" will not help at a time of the outbreak. Simon Coveney, Ireland's foreign minister, echoed, calling the decision "indefensible."

"This is an example of a very selfish approach by the U.S. authorities," wrote Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Twitter. 

Others stood in solidarity with the WHO, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern noting that "at a time like this when we need to be sharing information and we need to have advice we can rely on, the WHO has provided that."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also joined the condemnation with harsh phrases, linking the move to killing people. "The world is learning what Iran has known & experienced all along: U.S. regime's bullying, threatening & vainglorious blathering isn't just an addiction: it kills people," Zarif wrote on Twitter.

China calls U.S. move 'hegemonic mentality' 

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rebuked U.S. accusations on WHO as groundless.  

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the WHO, under the leadership of Ghebreyesus, has been actively fulfilling its duties and upholding an objective, scientific and impartial stance, spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press conference on Friday. 

"It has played an important role in helping relevant countries strengthen their pandemic response and promote international cooperation to tackle the pandemic."

Recently, the UN Secretary-General and many heads of state and representatives of international organizations have expressed support for the WHO, Geng stressed. 

"The statement of the recent Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19 stressed that member states fully support and remain committed to further strengthening the WHO's mandate in coordinating the international fight against the pandemic. This highlights the common position of the international community," he said. 

The U.S. believes that WHO should do its bidding because it is the largest contributor, Geng said, adding "This is typical hegemonic mentality." 

At this crucial moment in the global fight against the pandemic, to support WHO is to maintain the unity and cooperation of the international community, the spokesperson emphasized.