United States President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Sep. 22 that China must be held accountable for its actions over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump, in a recorded message played on a large screen in the UN General Assembly hall, accused Beijing of allowing the coronavirus to "leave China and infect the world".

Annual meeting

The occasion was the annual meeting of the UN, which turned 75 years old on Sep. 22, 2020.

World leaders are speaking virtually to the UN session in New York, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Reelection campaign mood

The US president transferred his hawkish campaign stump speech to the global stage.

"The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions," he said.

He added: "We must hold accountable the nation that released this plague upon the world."

Accuse China of looking after own interests

Trump accused China of only looking after its own interests when the potentially lethal virus first appeared in the city of Wuhan late last year.

And he said "the Chinese government, and the World Health Organisation , which is virtually controlled by China, falsely declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission".

"Later, they falsely said people without symptoms would not spread the disease," he also said.

Background

Trump faces a difficult reelection fight on Nov. 3.

He has resorted to blaming China to deflect voter criticism of his handling of the pandemic in the U.S.

Trump had previously said he would visit the UN General Assembly but changed his mind.

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn

Top photo via