ISTANBUL

China said on Monday that it supports the World Health Organization (WHO) following the US’ withdrawal from the body, and warned against politicizing COVID-19 to “shift blame” onto Beijing.

“WHO is the authoritative and professional international agency on global public health. We noted that WHO regrets the U.S.’s notification of withdrawal,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference in Beijing.

The remarks by Beijing came after the US on Jan. 22 formally completed its withdrawal from the WHO, ending nearly 78 years of membership.

“China has all along supported WHO in fulfilling its duty, deepened international cooperation on public health, strengthened global governance on public health, and promoted the building of a global community of health for all,” Guo added.

A Jan. 22 statement by the US Department of Health and Human Services said that Washington’s withdrawal from the WHO stemmed from “the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The statement also said that “China refused to provide genetic sequences from individuals infected early in the pandemic and information on the Wuhan laboratories’ activities and biosafety conditions.”

Responding to the claims, Guo said Monday that “after the outbreak of COVID-19, China has put people and their lives front and center, worked with other countries to fight the pandemic together, and made important contributions to international cooperation against COVID-19.”

He mentioned that Beijing’s response to COVID-19 “has a clear timeline and solid data” recognized by the international community.

“China firmly opposes politicizing the virus. To use COVID-19 as a pretext for political manipulation and shift blame to China will find no support and will not succeed,” he added.

US President Donald Trump has long been a sharp critic of the WHO, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He accused the organization of mishandling the early stages of the outbreak, being overly close to China, repeating inaccurate information from Beijing, and politicizing the crisis by calling US travel bans from China racist.

During his second term, Trump acted on those criticisms by withdrawing the US from the WHO in 2025, bringing an end to US membership and funding after nearly eight decades.