WASHINGTON - Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai on Tuesday cautioned against politicizing the COVID-19 outbreak and the "anything-but-China" mindset.

"I would call it the ABC mindset, anything but China. I'm really worried about that," Cui said during a conversation hosted by the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

Noting that the virus has had such a big impact on China, the US and the rest of the world, Cui said the two countries should think really hard about the real threats to the global community, as well as their true common interests

As COVID-19 began to emerge outside China, including European countries, China has been extending a helping hand, but the country's kindness was described as geopolitically-motivated, Cui said.

When China adopted new measures for quality control to make sure donated equipment met international standards, some again accused China of blocking exports of medical supplies, Cui continued, adding that behind the narrative trap is what he calls the ABC mindset.

Now is the time to save lives amid the global spread of COVID-19, but Cui noted that "some politicians are so preoccupied in their efforts for stigmatization, for groundless accusations," and "so little attention is paid to the views of the scientists".

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Noting that the virus has had such a big impact on China, the United States and the rest of the world, Cui said the two countries should think really hard about the real threats to the global community, as well as their true common interests.

"So hopefully this pandemic will really teach all of us a good lesson," said the ambassador. "And China-US relations could be based on a more realistic, forward-looking foundation."

In response to a question on the political bickering between Washington and Beijing amid the COVID-19 spread, Cui said there should be a distinction between those who are "narrowly politically motivated" and the general public in China and the United States.

"I think all this stigmatization and blame games are played out by the small number of such politicians," Cui said. "But if we look at the relations between the two peoples, I think that we have had a longstanding friendly relationship."

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"And now, the United States is confronting this outbreak. There's some outpouring of donations, supplies from Chinese provinces, cities, or businesses," he said. "So I think the two peoples are still helping each other."