China Urges Non-Politicization of COVID-19 Pandemic
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Beijing hopes that other countries will focus on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic rather than its politicization, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.
"We sincerely hope that all parties will focus on the fight itself, avoid any words or actions that politicize the epidemic, strengthen unity and work together to defeat the epidemic as soon as possible," the spokeswoman told a briefing, Sputnik reported.
The diplomat added that from the very outbreak of COVID-19, China put people's lives and health first and effectively carried out prevention and control measures mindful of the country's socioeconomic development.
In December, China announced that it was abandoning its zero-tolerance policy for COVID-19 and preparing to reopen its borders on January 8. The end of nearly three years of strict measures in a country of 1.4 billion people is feared to potentially lead to a massive spread of the disease across the globe.
Several countries, such as Britain, the United States, Japan, Italy and Spain, have introduced restrictions on the entry of travelers from China after its relaxed domestic controls.