Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point".

In its latest attempt to deflect criticism, the U.S. government is planning to accuse China of trying to "steal American research in the crash effort to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus." According to The New York Times report on Sunday, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security will issue the public warning in the coming days.

An earlier CNN report said that "the Trump administration is pointing the finger for attempting to steal coronavirus research amid a growing wave of cyberattacks" on hospitals, research laboratories, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies. Coinciding with the number of COVID-19 infections surpassing 1.3 million, the U.S. government's accusations underscore a desperate attempt to seek scapegoats for its incompetence.

In March, the Trump administration was found trying to monopolize the vaccines being developed by a German company and ensure "it is used exclusively in the USA", which triggered a rebuke from Germany.

At the Coronavirus Global Response, a recent EU-led pledging event, a total of 7.4 billion euros (US$8 billion) was raised for developing, producing and deploying a vaccine for all. The participants consisted mainly of developed countries, with the notable exclusion of the United States, which led to some leaders at the meeting to express concern that the "American First" policy could lead to a transatlantic vaccine race.

Former U.S. health official Jeremy Konyndyk, who worked on the Ebola response, said that "it's the first time that I can think of where you have had a major international pledging conference for a global crisis of this kind of importance and the U.S. is just absent." A German news broadcaster said that the refusal to cooperate has made the transatlantic alliance relationship even colder.

According to CBS, the U.S. government cancelled coronavirus research funding for renowned American virologist Peter Daszak only because his research was carried out in collaboration with China's Wuhan Institute of Virology—the lab accused by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as being responsible for the virus in an unsubstantiated theory of its origin.

All these facts show how selfish and politicized the United States has become when it comes to coronavirus vaccine research. In contrast, China has been open to cooperation in its research and development since the outbreak. China shared the virus' genetic information in a timely manner, established a platform for sharing data and scientific research results, and actively carried out international cooperation in drug and vaccine research.

The Chinese government has so far donated a total of US$50 million to the World Health Organization, as well as participated in the international cooperation initiative launched by the UN agency to better promote the research and development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines.

Last week, Science Magazine published a report by a research team led by Dr. Qin Chuan of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The report detailed the world's first animal trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates and showed its effectiveness in protecting monkeys from becoming infected. As the most experienced country dealing with the new coronavirus, China has no need to steal from others for developing COVID-19 vaccines.

Overshadowed by its own failure in managing the pandemic, Washington has abandoned its figurative fig leaf with its political machinations. The U.S. government is risking American lives by transforming international vaccine development into a political race and smearing games. Right now, reinforced global cooperation, rather than unilateral competition, is the ultimate weapon to defeat this devastating viral enemy.