The Chinese ambassador to the United States says China has erected a "Great Wall of disease control" in response to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Cui Tiankai made the remarks in an option article published by the highly-circulated USA Today newspaper.

China has been fighting COVID-19 since December of last year, and in recent weeks the number of new cases has slowed.

But at the same time, cases of coronavirus outside China are on the rise. The World Health Organization rates the global risk as "very high."

In his commentary, Ambassador Cui Tiankai also writes, "Some people have put their political agenda above public interests and common sense, and they are desperately spreading 'political virus'.”

"We are all on the same boat. I think the American people know this, but some politicians and media seem to have difficulties to understand this," the ambassador added.

Wednesday, Cui Tiankai met with American Jewish leaders in Washington who expressed their support for China's position in fighting xenophobia and racism amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"As Jews, we learned from our history that such negative sentiments and rumors can be easily used to incite prejudice against the Chinese people, making them the scapegoats," the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said in a letter signed by nearly 100 Jewish groups in the U.S.

The influential American newspaper Wall Street Journal wrote a controversial headline, "China is the Real Sick Man of Asia" on February 3.

Both Chinese and American Jewish leaders accused the paper of blatant racism.

"Disease knows no borders. This unexpected epidemic reminds us again of how vulnerable mankind is and how essential it is to help each other in the face of difficulties. As important members of this global village and the world’s two biggest economies, China and the United States need to cooperate to address global challenges and problems," Ambassador Cui wrote in his opinion article.