US asked to assist others after China controls pay off

China has not received funds or material donations from the United States government to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday.

He made the remarks in response to a question about a US government pledge last month to provide $100 million in assistance to countries, including China, to combat the virus.

Geng said that the US Agency for International Development had pledged to provide China with a batch of medical supplies including masks and protective clothing, and it informed Beijing on March 11 that relevant materials were ready.

Given that China has recently achieved positive results in containing the contagion while the pandemic has hit many countries and regions worldwide, Geng said that China has formally expressed gratitude to the US and hopes Washington will instead provide the supplies to countries that need them more as soon as possible.

In another development, Geng also said that accusations that the countermeasures on some US media agencies are aimed to stop the outside world from learning about the novel coronavirus outbreak is "purely groundless" and "made out of ulterior motives".

China took the measures only to respond to Washington's unreasonable crackdown on Chinese media outlets, he said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview that China "tried to suppress" information about the outbreak, and is "forcing journalists out".

"If we go by that logic, is it fair to say the US virtually expelled 60 Chinese reporters also in an attempt to prevent the outside world from obtaining the outbreak's information?" Geng said.

It's not fair that the US judges media agencies of other countries based on its own ideology and standards, and then labels, stigmatizes and cracks down on Chinese media agencies, the spokesman said.

Speaking of China's efforts to tackle the disease, Geng said it has been acting in an open, transparent and responsible manner.

"Can the US invite the World Health Organization mission to investigate, just like China did? Can it respond to the questions of the international community?" Geng said, adding that the US is trying to shift the blame.