China says move will hurt global efforts to fight pandemic; UN chief calls for solidarity

China expressed its "grave concerns" over Washington's decision to halt its funding for the World Health Organization, saying the move will undermine the ability of the organization and international cooperation in tackling the virus.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remark at a daily news conference on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced that his administration is withholding the US contribution of $400 million to the WHO and will conduct a review of the global organization's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the whole world is threatened by the novel coronavirus, the suspension of funding will affect all countries, including the US itself and countries that are less able to contain the outbreak, Zhao said, urging the US to implement its duty effectively and support the WHO in leading global disease-control efforts.

Zhao said the WHO is the most authoritative and professional international organization in global public health security, and it has an irreplaceable role to play in coping with global public health crises. China will continue to support the organization in tackling the pandemic, Zhao added.

China has donated $20 million to the WHO to support its disease-control efforts, and will continue to support it to the best of the country's ability, Zhao said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, shortly after Trump's announcement, that it was "not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus".

"Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences," he said.

"It is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world's efforts to win the war against COVID-19," the secretary-general said in a statement issued by his spokesman.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Studies of Renmin University of China, said the US is "shifting blame", and that its decision reflects Washington's "America First" thinking.

The move will worsen the scenario of the world's fight against the coronavirus, Wang said.

Whether the world will succeed in containing the pandemic depends on how countries with weaker abilities cope with the challenge, and the US will be safe only when all humanity overcomes the disease, he said.

Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, called cutting funding to the WHO during a global health crisis "disgraceful", warning that it would cause death and even blow-back for the United States.

He said in one of a series of tweets on Tuesday that people will die because of the decision to withdraw WHO funding, which is meant to distract from US failure to prepare for the virus.

American Medical Association President Patrice Harris said in a statement on Tuesday, "During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World Health Organization is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier."