China has been cooperating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other nations closely with an open and transparent attitude, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday, adding that WHO experts have highly praised China's efforts.

The remarks came in response to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's claim that China didn't show "transparency" in arranging WHO experts' visit to Wuhan.

Wang underscored that WHO experts' visit to Wuhan is part of a global study of COVID-19, noting that WHO and Chinese experts are working together to trace the origin of the virus. "However, this is a complicated task involving many other countries," he said.

COVID-19 infections were reported in many other regions even before China's outbreak. Wang pointed out that studies have shown that COVID-19 antibodies were found in the U.S. as early as in December 2019, much before the first COVID-19 case was officially registered in the U.S. on January 21, 2020. 

"We urge the U.S. side to cooperate with the WHO and other countries to jointly make contributions to the global fight against COVID-19. We also call on WHO experts to conduct scientific research in the U.S.," Wang said. 

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(Cover: Members of a team led by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, February 2, 2021. /CFP)