BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 160,000 people globally has exposed shortcomings in the global health system.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a daily briefing that China calls on the international community to prioritise public health security.

China has reported nearly 81,000 infections and 3,237 deaths in the mainland from the coronavirus epidemic, which emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)