China's 'token' $2 bn payment to WHO is a distraction to hide failure: US

The US government sees China's newly announced payment to the World Health Organization (WHO) as an attempt to distract from Beijing's failure in handling the Covid-19 outbreak, White House National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement on Monday.

Earlier, China announced that it would provide more than $2 billion over two years to the WHO to fight the pandemic.

"The CCP [Chinese Communist Party]'s payment of $2 billion is a token to distract from the growing number of nations demanding accountability for the Chinese government's failure to meet its obligations under International Health Regulations to tell the truth and warn the world what was coming," Ullyot said.

President Donald Trump has suspended US payments to the WHO pending a review of how the organization handled the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. China has said it released information about the virus in a timely manner. The WHO said its emergency declaration gave countries plenty of time to prepare.