The top diplomats of seven countries including South Korea and the United States held a video conference on Monday to discuss cooperation and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. State Department said in a press release that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks with the top diplomats of South Korea, Japan, Australia, Brazil, India and Israel. 

Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said that Pompeo and his counterparts discussed the importance of "international cooperation, transparency and accountability" in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing its causes.

Ortagus said the meeting also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises and reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order. 

Pompeo also said in a personal Twitter post that "the rule of law, transparency, and accountability" will be key to the countries' shared success. 

These comments on "transparency and accountability" appear to be directed at China amid rising tensions between the two nations over Washington's criticism of Beijing's lack of transparency in relation to coronavirus data and information.