ISTANBUL — China has bought the world time to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak, and has been acting in a responsible manner during this health crisis, some Turkish experts have said.

"China has actually done its share for its quick response to the outbreak and the responsible stance that it adopted during the process," Muhammet Mustafa Aydogan, director of the Ankara-based Bosphorus Center for Asian Studies, told Xinhua.

China has sent medical aid to dozens of countries and shared knowledge with them, Aydogan noted.

Turkey, with the highest number of infections in the Middle East, has registered a relatively low mortality rate.

"There is a lot of experience to be learned from China, and we are trying to look up to them in our fight against the novel coronavirus, because we know that their methods worked," Gule Cinar, a doctor on clinical microbiology and infectious diseases, told Xinhua.

"China has been very successful in controlling and containing the virus by isolation, confinement and social distancing methods," the doctor explained. "Also, the death rate of infected patients remained low in China, which is something that we value and try to replicate here."

Cinar, who works in a university hospital here, added that doctors and scientists in China and Turkey hold regular video conferences to share thoughts and experience.

With regard to some recent smears against China's fight against the coronavirus outbreak, many local observers have argued that China has become a convenient target for some countries to scapegoat or deflect attention away from their poor management of the outbreak.

Some western politician have designated China as a scapegoat to cover up their despair, said political commentator Riza Tasdelen.