The United States damaged multilateral cooperation and the World Health Organisation in recent years, and should not be “pointing fingers” at China and other countries that supported the WHO during the Covid -19 pandemic, the Chinese Embassy has said.

A spokesperson for the embassy, responding to a statement from US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, said China welcomed Washington’s decision to reengage with the WHO, but it should hold itself to the “highest standards” instead of taking aim at other countries.

Sullivan on Saturday called on China to make available data from the earliest days of the Covid-19 outbreak, citing “deep concerns” about the way the findings of the WHO’s investigation into the origins of Covid-19 were communicated.