Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton defended the use of the phrase "Wuhan Virus" from critics who complain it is xenophobic.

The Republican was prompted to react to media disapproval of labeling the coronavirus in such a way that identifies its widely believed origin in Wuhan, China, by Fox News host Jesse Watters on his Saturday evening show, Watters' World.

"Anyone who complains that it's racist or xenophobic to call this virus the Chinese coronavirus or the Wuhan virus is a politically correct fool," Cotton said.

Moments earlier, Watters showed a tweet from MSNBC's Chris Hayes, who said: "Just astoundingly gross to call it the Wuhan Virus."

The senator said these critics should be ignored, particularly talking about the spread of the deadly illness.

"In fact, as you say, the Chinese Communist Party right now is trying to blame this on America. In their Chinese language media at this very moment, they are telling their own people this did not come from Wuhan. It came from outside of China, perhaps the United States. That's why it's so important that we not let Lijian get away with that kind of propaganda," Cotton said.

He was referring to China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, whose recent claims that the U.S. military planted the coronavirus in Wuhan prompted the State Department to summon the Chinese ambassador for some "stern" words.

Cotton also said the U.S. needs to "reevaluate" its relationship with China because its lack of transparency early on in the outbreak hurt the rest of the world's ability to prepare and respond to what is now a pandemic.

China has begun to tout itself as a global leader in containing the coronavirus, even though most of the cases worldwide, 80,000, have been found in the Chinese mainland, and more than 3,100 people have died in the country. China has also been lobbing threats at the West.

A recent article in Xinhua, the state-run media agency in China, claimed Beijing could start denying life-saving drugs, which would throw the U.S. into "the mighty sea of coronavirus."

Cotton said the U.S. needs to lower its dependency on China.

"China now makes much of our basic pharmaceutical products. That has to change, and it has to change fast," the senator said, adding that there should be other "consequences" in the future.