Facing the novel coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. side's shifting blame to China will do no good to the epidemic prevention and control in the United States, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on March 20.

Meanwhile, that will do no good to international cooperation on battling the epidemic, Geng said at a press briefing in response to some U.S. accusations concerning China's epidemic information transparency and countermeasures against restrictive measures on Chinese media agencies in the United States.

Geng reiterated that China was compelled to take the reciprocal measures in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organizations experience in the United States.

These measures are legitimate and justified self-defense, Geng said.

Many American people and media, as well as people with vision from the globe have questioned that the United States is slow in its response to the epidemic and has released confusing messages to the public, he added.

In comparison, China has responded to the epidemic in an open, transparent and responsible manner and taken the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough measures of prevention and control, said Geng, adding that China's actions have bought precious time for the international community and made important contributions to the global fight against the epidemic.