Pompeo conveyed 'strong U.S. objections' to Beijing over COVID-19 accusations

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a telephone call on Monday with a senior Chinese diplomat conveyed "strong U.S. objections to what it sees as China's efforts to shift blame for COVID-19 to the United States, the U.S. State Department said.

In his phone conversation with Yang Jiechi, Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Pompeo stressed that "this is not the time to spread disinformation and outlandish rumors," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.