The U.S. is guilty of "three sins" in COVID-19 pandemic response and origin-tracing, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during a daily press conference on Thursday.

The sins include allowing the virus to spread untracked, hiding the truth about the virus and seeking "origin-tracing terrorism," Zhao said when answering a question from CGTN.

"The U.S. has been fanning the flames and gearing up its political manipulation with regards to origin-tracing," he said.

'Allowing the virus to spread untracked'

According to Zhao, the U.S. political manipulation over epidemic prevention and control caused 35 million infections and over 610,000 deaths.

"The U.S. has not taken effective exit control measures, resulting in imported cases from the U.S. in many countries," he said. 

"Despite international opposition, the U.S. has repatriated tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who are infected with COVID-19, which has directly caused many serious diseases in Latin America."

The U.S. action is tantamount to "exporting viruses," Zhao quoted a New York Times report.

'Hiding the truth about the virus'

Research shows that the number of COVID-19 infections and related deaths in the U.S. may be as high as 65 million and 900,000, respectively, much higher than official statistics show, Zhao said. 

"Is this the so-called transparent and responsible attitude of the U.S. side?" Zhao questioned.

'Origin-tracing terrorism'

Zhao also accused the U.S. of seeking what he called "origin-tracing terrorism."

"Since the first 'Chinese virus' shouted by the former government, the U.S. has been spreading virus stigmatization around the world," Zhao said. "The U.S. is also trying to bind China and even Asian countries to the origin of coronavirus, leading to the rising anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. and some Western countries."

Many Asian people have been subjected to discrimination, oppression and even personal threats, leading to terror and insecurity, he added.

CGTN: According to recent media reports, the US is not only weak in its own response to the epidemic, which has led to more infections and deaths than any other country in the world, it is also taking irresponsible measures in outbound travel control and repatriation of illegal immigrants, which has exacerbated the global spread of the epidemic. What is China's comment?

Zhao Lijian: For some time, the U.S. has been fanning the flames, and gearing up political manipulation with regard to origin-tracing. The US is guilty of three sins in epidemic response and origin-tracing:

First, the U.S. has allowed the virus to spread unchecked.The U.S., a global leader in medical technology, has let political manipulation override epidemic control, leading to infection of some 35 million Americans and lost of lives of more than 610,000. The U.S. has failed to exercise effective outbound travel control measures, and many countries have reported imported cases from the U.S. In disregard of the opposition of the international community, the U.S. has sped up the repatriation of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants infected with the coronavirus, exacerbating the epidemic in many Latin American countries. The New York Times commented that what the U.S. has done was tantamount to exporting the virus.

Second, the U.S. has hidden the truth from the world. Research by the University of Washington suggests that the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the U.S. could be as high as 65 million and 900,000 respectively, far higher than official statistics. While the timeline of early cases in the U.S. has been constantly dialed forward, and Fort Detrick is shrouded with suspicion, the US still mentions nothing about whether it plans to invite WHO in, and open Fort Detrick and other bio labs. Is this the "transparent and responsible" attitude that the U.S. has been preaching?

Third, the U.S. has been practicing "origin-tracing terrorism". Ever since its previous administration coined the term "Chinese virus", the US has not stopped trying to sell stories that stigmatize China. It attempts to link the origin of the virus with China and even Asian countries as a group, which has caused rising anti-Asian sentiment in the US and some other countries in the West, where many people of Asian descent fear discrimination, oppression and even physical threat. The U.S. also plays dirty tricks on the scientific community, stifling the righteous voice of scientists, subjecting many outspoken scientists to verbal abuse and threat of physical assaults. Some media compare such behaviors of the U.S. with acts of terrorism.

The above-mentioned three sins are just the tip of the iceberg of the political manipulation conducted by the U.S. It is the universal consensus of the international community to reject political manipulation of origin-tracing issue. So far, 60 countries have written to the WHO Director-General to state their position.

The coronavirus needs to be traced to its source, and so does the political virus, which needs to be thoroughly dealt with, as some takes advantage of the epidemic to shift the blame, and blatantly engage in discrimination and coercion.