UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The permanent mission of China to the United Nations on Wednesday expressed firm opposition to the U.S. attack and slander at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Chinese mission made the remarks in exercising the right of reply, in accordance with the rules of the UNGA, to the attack and slander against China made by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the general debate.

At the UNGA general debate, the United States attacked and slandered China in total disregard of basic facts. China expresses firm opposition, said the Chinese mission.

"The world is facing formidable challenges posed by COVID-19 and the serious threats of unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying practices. The world has come to a crossroads," said the Chinese mission. "At this moment, what is needed is unity, cooperation, and mutual trust, instead of confrontation and the spread of 'political virus.'"

The novel coronavirus is the common enemy of humankind. It is yet another unknown virus from nature, which can break out among humans anytime anywhere. China is a victim of the virus and a contributor to the global fight against it, the Chinese mission said.

China reported the epidemic, identified the pathogen, and shared its genome sequence with the world -- all at the earliest time possible. When human-to-human transmission was confirmed, China immediately made the resolute decision to shut all exit routes from Wuhan. The most stringent closure was imposed on the exit routes from Wuhan City and Hubei Province, and traffic control was put in place. China's customs authorities promptly halted, in accordance with law, overseas travels by Chinese people under four categories, namely confirmed cases, suspected cases, close contacts with the former two, and people with fevers, said the Chinese mission.

When China closed the exit channels from Wuhan on Jan. 23, only nine confirmed cases were identified outside China, of which only one was in the United States. On Jan. 31, the United States suspended direct flights with China. When the United States closed its borders to all Chinese citizens on Feb. 2, only a dozen of confirmed cases were reported in the United States, it noted.

"China's epidemic response has been open and transparent every step of the way. The timeline is clear, and the facts and data speak for themselves," said the mission.

The United States, as a developed country with the most advanced medical technology in the world, has nonetheless become the most severely affected country in the world, with more than 6 million confirmed cases and 200,000 deaths. The reasons behind are thought-provoking, it said.

The smear campaign against China on COVID-19 is an attempt by the United States to shift the blame for its own poor handling of the epidemic. The United States also arbitrarily attacked and pulled out of the World Health Organization, putting global anti-epidemic cooperation in jeopardy, harming people around the world and incurring a heavy cost for its own people, the Chinese mission said.

"What the U.S. needs to do now is stop the political manipulation, stop labeling or politicizing the virus, focus on combating the virus at home, and support the UN and the WHO in playing their roles," it noted in the statement. Enditem