China strongly supports Russia's efforts to combat the coronavirus and believes that the international community should unite to defeat the pandemic together, rather than look for those responsible for the outbreak or rush to conclusions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday, commenting on media's allegations that Russia was manipulating its COVID-19 statistics
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2020) China strongly supports Russia's efforts to combat the coronavirus and believes that the international community should unite to defeat the pandemic together, rather than look for those responsible for the outbreak or rush to conclusions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday, commenting on media's allegations that Russia was manipulating its COVID-19 statistics.
On Monday, the Financial Times published an article claiming that Russia's COVID-19 death toll could be 70 percent higher than the government's figures. Russian lawmakers have hit back at the newspaper's claims, saying that Moscow has never manipulated the figures. World Health Organization spokeswoman in Russia Melita Vujnovic has said there was no evidence that Moscow is knowingly understating mortality statistics.
"The Chinese side has noticed that some Western media are trying to hype the issue of the COVID-19 death rate in Russia, while the Russian Federation has clearly indicated its position on this matter. China strongly supports Russia's efforts in the fight against coronavirus and believes that under the strong leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian people will be able to achieve victory in the fight against the pandemic," Zhao said during a briefing.
According to the spokesman, China believes that cooperation, solidarity and mutual support are the most powerful weapons against the common enemy.
Zhao added that in order to overcome the current difficulties, the international community should join forces "instead of drawing hasty conclusions and blaming others."
According to the official figures, 262,843 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Russia since the start of the outbreak, resulting in the deaths of 2,418 people. The mortality rate stands at less than one percent, which is much lower, in relative terms, than in many other countries.
Russian officials have stated that the low mortality rate is due to the high level of testing, which is allowing for officials to identify those in the early stages of the disease and provide medical assistance while their symptoms are still mild.
