China has made a large $30 million donation to the World Health Organization after the US pulled funding from the group following wide scale questioning of their integrity.
According to the South China Morning Post, this is the second donation that China has made to the organization after making a sizeable $20 million donation in March.
Now totaling $50 million in donations in less than two months, many had previously questioned WHO’s narratives mirroring China’s reports–now shown to be false or significantly revised–of the coronavirus outbreak, prompting many to point the finger at the world’s second largest economy.
Beijing made the pledge to WHO as Trump halted America’s funding to the Swiss-based group, after formerly contributing 15% of their total budget. Now, Beijing has doubled-down their backing of WHO aiming to “support the global fight against COVID-19 and strengthen developing countries’ health systems.”
Despite the gesture, China’s state-run outlet, Global Times, recently ran two opinion pieces on the same day slamming America for their handling of the crisis. One piece compared America’s handling of the crisis to a “primitive society.” The other stated “the US is no match for China.”
Another state journalist also blamed America for the global pandemic, suggesting that the coronavirus was made in an American lab before being leaked at the Military Games held in Wuhan at the end of last year.
However, China has urged America to stop blaming them for their role in the crisis.
China’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Geng Shuang said: “[The donation] reflects the support and trust of the Chinese government and people for the WHO.”
A few days ago, Geng told reporters, “The international community can overcome the virus only if it can stay united and cooperate to make concerted efforts.
“Attacking and discrediting other countries simply wastes time and cannot save lost lives.”
“China has been attacked by the virus and is also a victim of the virus. We are not the culprit, nor the accomplice of the virus,” Geng added.
In the past five years, China’s donations to WHO have increased by over 50%.
