FM spokesperson disputes US accusations over meeting

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday an accusation made by the United States about China failing to appear at a virtual senior-level meeting "is not right and irresponsible".

He made the remark after Admiral Phil Davidson, the commander for US Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement on Wednesday that China refused to show up in meetings slated for this week related to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement focused on maritime safety.

"It is totally because of the US side that the relevant meeting under the China-US maritime military security mechanism didn't happen," Wang told reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

When asked about a possible trip to China by COVID-19 investigators from the World Health Organization to China in January as media reported, Wang said on Thursday that China stands ready to enhance cooperation with the WHO to advance global tracing efforts and contribute its share in the early victory against the pandemic by mankind.

"China has been open, transparent and responsible and is among the first countries to cooperate with the WHO," Wang said.

So far, the WHO has sent two groups of experts to China, one each in February and July, for investigations into COVID-19.

According to Wang, while the Chinese experts have been actively sharing China's progress in origin tracing with the WHO and international experts through virtual meetings, the WHO has also updated China on its latest research progress.

"Cooperation between China and WHO is advancing in a steady way," Wang added.