China slams WHO for doubting 'transparent' COVID data

U.N. health agency accuses Beijing of underreporting coronavirus deaths

Medical workers attend to COVID-19 patients at an intensive care unit converted from a conference room, at a hospital in Cangzhou, China, on Jan. 11. (China Daily via Reuters)

TSUKASA HADANO, Nikkei staff writer

January 13, 2023 00:50 JST

BEIJING -- China's Foreign Ministry responded sharply on Thursday to the World Health Organization's skepticism about the country's disclosure of COVID-19 data, calling on the WHO to examine all the facts "rationally" before making critiques.

"We hope that the WHO will look at China's COVID response scientifically and rationally and that its related statements will reflect objectivity and impartiality," ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters.