A firefighter conducts disinfection at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
The international community should never be distracted in its collaborative response to COVID-19 by finger-pointing or the blame game, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing on Tuesday.
"Still less should we allow new tensions and divisions to be created as a result of politicization or stigmatization," Wang, also a state councilor, made the remarks when addressing BRICS Foreign Ministers' Extraordinary Conference on COVID-19 via video link.
BRICS is an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Noting that fighting COVID-19 is like putting out fire, Wang said every minute counts when life is at stake.
"As countries battle the disease in light of their own situations. China calls for mutual understanding and respect for these efforts, and sharing and learning from each other's experience," he said.