On Tuesday, China responded in rebuke of United States President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly where the Republican leader is urging Beijing to take responsibility for the failed response to the coronavirus pandemic.
After the statements, China said Trump was spreading a political virus across the world. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said that Beijing has outright denied the allegations and baseless accusations the U.S. president made during the September 22 General Debate.
Growing international tensions
According to Fox News, Zhang added that while China was doing its best in fighting the COVID-19 health crisis, the United States is spreading disinformation and that Trump is provoking Beijing and has been working to weaken the U.N.
During the assembly, Trump criticized China and how it handled the coronavirus pandemic, specifically how it responded in the initial stages of what he called the "China virus" and its origins from Wuhan.
President Trump also urged the U.N. to hold China responsible for their actions. He added that the Chinese government and the World Health Organization (WHO), who he said is being controlled by Beijing, spread disinformation about the threat of the coronavirus.
Earlier this year, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the WHO after the Republican said that the organization was in too close of a relationship with China. The U.S. president also called for an investigation looking into the outbreak of the virus.
The director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society, Orville Schell, said that both President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping saw flexibility as a weakness and that concessions were the marks of diplomacy, as reported by The New York Times.
Trump also delivered a speech where he praised the United States' responses to the coronavirus pandemic and touted the quick advancements of a vaccine for the virus. The Republican leader added that the treatments would soon be available nationwide and that the era of the coronavirus would soon come to an end.
Global threat
According to the Wall Street Journal, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during the annual U.N. General Assembly that officials must do everything in their power to avoid a new Cold War.
President Xi said that Beijing has no desire to fight in a new Cold War, but the growing tensions between the United States and China were on vibrant display during the assembly.
The U.S. and China have also had an argument over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
After Trump's speech at the assembly, Xi responded by saying that world nations should focus on multilateralism and cooperate with the U.N. to safeguard the international system. He added that major countries should act how they should and live up to people's expectations.
The Chinese leader also promised that China, the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter, will become carbon neutral by 2060. Several environmental groups quickly gave their approval of the pledge that protects nature.
However, Trump vowed to break relations with China and has threatened to block companies that conduct outsourcing of jobs to China. The Republican leader also promised to provide jobs to the United States if he wins reelection this coming November.
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