China reiterated its opposition to the stigmatization of COVID-19 on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump called the virus "kung flu." 

"We have noticed the remarks," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing. "The World Health Organization and the international community have expressed clear objection to associating a virus with a specific country or region and acts of stigmatization." 

China firmly opposes any act to stigmatize the origin of the novel coronavirus, he added.

During his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, Trump said he could name the coronavirus as "kung flu," combining the name of Chinese martial arts "kung fu" with the word "flu." 

Trump has previously termed the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," prompting criticism from civil liberty groups and Asian-Americans. 

China has noticed that many in the United States are also against stigmatization of COVID-19 and racist comments over the issue, Zhao said at the press conference. 

CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, who is Chinese-American, noted in a tweet on Sunday that the U.S. president had referred to the coronavirus as "kung flu." She said in March that a White House official had called the virus "kung flu" in her presence. 

"Makes me wonder what they're calling it behind my back," she tweeted. 

Japanese-American actor George Takei also criticized Trump for the "racist" remarks. 

"Trump is cracking jokes in Tulsa about COVID-19, calling it 'kung flu' which is not only racist but belittles the deaths of 122K Americans and the horrific loss for their families," Takei tweeted on Sunday.