The practice of some U.S. politicians to cast blame on others when problems arise is not rare. Under domestic criticism on their sloppy response to the worsening situation of COVID-19, it is not beyond expectation that they posted tweets calling the coronavirus "Chinese."

Photo taken on March 16, 2020, shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The virus does not have a nationality. As the number of confirmed cases outside China has topped 83,000 as of Monday, it is all the more important and urgent for all countries to step up cooperation to fight the epidemic and safeguard global public health security.

With the Chinese people's arduous efforts, China has seen important progress in containing the disease and provided the world precious time to enhance the preparedness.

The so-called political elite in Washington, however, are not using the time well. Ever since the outbreak, they have been more interested in spreading disinformation and slandering China's anti-epidemic efforts instead of caring about how to prepare its own country better to protect the people from the disease.

The tally of confirmed U.S. cases has multiplied quickly over the past few weeks, prompting public fears about the health system's capacity and concerns about economic recession risk driven by the outbreak.

Confidence is badly in need. But confidence only comes from effective response to ensure lives can be saved and the virus contained. Confidence does not originate from leaders' ability to cast the coronavirus as a disease brought by foreigners.

Using racist and xenophobic names to cast blame for the outbreak on other countries can only reveal politicians' irresponsibility and incompetence which will intensify virus fears.

The United States should focus on self-improvement to address the disease challenge. A country trying to be great again should not be one led by politicians shifting responsibilities and stigmatizing other countries.

The scheme to smear China has undercut U.S. politicians' credibility and outraged not only the Chinese people but also those in the United States, as shown in comments following the politicians' tweets.

The U.S. side should immediately correct its wrongful behaviors and stop smearing China and making groundless accusations against it before it is too late. 

Source: Xinhua