Trump administration will hold China accountable for Covid: Pompeo

US President Donald Trump is committed to making sure that the administration holds China accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across the world and led to economic disruption, said Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

"President @realDonaldTrump is committed to making sure that we hold China accountable for this virus now destroying hundreds of thousands of lives all across the world and billions of dollars in wealth. We will hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for that," Pompeo was quoted as saying in a State Department tweet on Sunday (local time).

Relations between the US and China have worsened in recent times with the two countries sparring over a range of issues including Beijing's territorial aggression in the South China Sea and the Chinese government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Pompeo has said recently that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a clear and intensifying pattern of bullying its neighbours from the Taiwan Strait to the Himalayas and beyond and hoped for a peaceful resolution of the situation on the India-China border.

Last Wednesday, the top US diplomat said the Department of State will now require senior Chinese diplomats in the US to receive approval to visit American university campuses and to meet with local government officials.