The Chinese Embassy in India has refuted some media reports alleging that China is concealing its COVID-19 situation.

The Chinese government has always maintained an open and transparent attitude on releasing and sharing epidemic information, said Ji Rong, counselor and spokesperson of the embassy, in a statement published Friday on the embassy website.

"The coronavirus is a novel virus unseen in the past, its detection, research, testing and confirmation naturally require time," Ji said.

"The Chinese government's position has been consistent that the origin of the virus requires scientific, fact-based and professional assessment made by experts," Ji said.

The spokesperson noted that after the outbreak of COVID-19, China has been racing against time to fight the virus and contain its spread.

"The Chinese government took the unprecedented, decisive and strong prevention and control measures at the earliest time possible, which have been proven to be highly effective at the current stage," the spokesperson said.

"The Chinese government has always been open, transparent and responsible in all its efforts, including publishing daily updates in a timely manner," Ji noted.

The spokesperson said that faced with the pandemic, the destinies of all countries are closely intertwined, adding that slandering others or shifting the blame would only waste more valuable time.

"We should discard the differences of ideology and social systems, take full account of the humanitarian spirit, devote our time and energy in fighting against the pandemic and saving lives, so as to defeat the pandemic as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.

"China stands ready to further international cooperation in fighting the pandemic and sharing experiences with other countries," Ji said. "We should join hands and work together to defeat the virus as soon as possible and safeguard regional and global public health security."