China has called on the United States to stop politicizing the tracing of COVID-19’s origins and to cease pressuring international organizations. A spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva made the remarks on Tuesday during the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA).
The spokesperson criticized the U.S. delegation’s “groundless remarks” at the WHA, noting the irony of the United States attacking countries that have consistently supported the World Health Organization (WHO), despite previously announcing its own withdrawal from the agency.
“China has always offered selfless support to the WHO,” the spokesperson said, emphasizing that since the outbreak of COVID-19, China shared information and the virus’s genetic sequence with the international community at the earliest possible time. China also provided medical supplies and financial assistance to the WHO and 153 countries, including the United States.
The spokesperson highlighted China’s cooperation with the WHO on scientific origins tracing, including inviting WHO expert teams to China for joint studies. These efforts led to the conclusion that a lab leak of COVID-19 from China is “extremely unlikely,” showcasing China’s transparency on the issue.
“It is disgraceful and doomed to fail when certain countries, in an attempt to cover up their own poor pandemic response, resort to smearing others,” the spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson urged the United States to address international concerns about the origins and handling of the pandemic on its own territory. “The U.S. should share its early case data with the WHO and be transparent about Fort Detrick and its network of overseas biological laboratories.”
“Political manipulation over COVID-19 origins tracing must stop,” the spokesperson concluded.
