China lashed out at US President Donald Trump for referring the Coronavirus as a ‘Chinese virus’.
Trump had on Monday referred to the Coronavirus which causes the disease Covid-19 – as the “Chinese virus”.
A foreign ministry spokesman warned the US should “take care of its own business” before stigmatising China.
Reacting to Trump’s tweet, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the tweet amount to “stigmatisation of China”.
“We urge the US to correct its mistake and stop its groundless accusations against China,” he added.
China’s official news agency, Xinhua, said Mr Trump’s language was “racist and xenophobic” and revealed “politicians’ irresponsibility and incompetence”, risking increasing fears over the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against linking the virus to any particular area or group, due to the risk of stigmatisation.
However, a number of US administration officials have referred to it as the Chinese virus. Meanwhile, Mr Pompeo has repeatedly referred to the “Wuhan virus”.
The first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
So far, more than 170,000 cases have been recorded worldwide, with more than 80,000 in China.
However, on Tuesday, Beijing said it had recorded just one new case caught in China, with all other new cases brought into the country.