US President Donald Trump, who addressed the UN General Assembly  virtually on Tuesday, said the United Nations must hold China accountable for its actions over the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recorded message played to the annual meeting of the UN, Trump accused Beijing of allowing the coronavirus to “leave China and infect the world.”

“The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,” he said.

The General Assembly is being held almost virtually due to COVID-19. During his speech, Trump used his loaded term “China virus and said, “Those who attack America’s exceptional environmental record while ignoring China’s rampant pollution are not interested in the environment. They only want to punish America. And I will not stand for it.”

“The Chinese government, and the World Health Organization –- which is virtually controlled by China –- falsely declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission,” Trump said, referring to initial statements by the UN health body that it later revised.

The US President has also given notice to the United States and is pulling out of the World Health Organisation.