China 'very concerned' about virus outbreak in US

China says it is "very concerned" about the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and that allegations it is running a disinformation campaign "violated the consensus" between America's President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping.

"We are very concerned about the development of the epidemic situation in the US, and hope that their people can overcome this difficulty as soon as possible, and we are willing to do our best to provide help and support," said Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a regular news conference on Tuesday.

Hua also denied allegations made by senior US officials that China is running an online campaign to sow disinformation around the global coronavirus pandemic.

"We have no intention, no time, and no interest to launch a so-called "disinformation campaign," she said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that Group of Seven members were all aware of China's "disinformation campaign" regarding the coronavirus outbreak. The two countries dispute the origins of the disease.

Hua said Xi Jinping had spoken with Trump on the phone on Friday and that the leaders had agreed to work together to fight the epidemic.

"The remarks by certain American officials you mentioned clearly violated the consensus of the two heads of state," Hua stressed.