On Monday, China’s President Xi Jinping said Monday that China will contribute $2 billion in aid to combat the coronavirus in other countries, after the pandemic spread beyond its borders.
The funds will be distributed over two years, and are intended to “help with Covid-19 response, and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries,” Xi said at a convening of the World Health Assembly.
Xi defended his country’s handling of the pandemic, which has been sharply criticized by U.S. officials and other countries, insisting that China has been prompt and transparent in sharing information about the virus with the WHO. “We have shared control and treatment experience with the world without reservation,” Xi said in his speech. “We have done everything in our power to support and assist countries in need.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month the U.S. “strongly believed” China flouted World Health Organization rules by neglecting to report on the outbreak in a “timely fashion,” and did not report on the community spread of the virus “for a month until it was in every province inside of China.”
Editorial credit: Igor Y Eros / Shutterstock.com