World Health Assembly Held... Are the US and China Crossing the Rubicon?

Virtual Meeting on 18-19th, First WHO Meeting Since the Pandemic
US-China Conflict Over COVID-19 Responsibility Raises Tensions to a Boiling Point

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Young-shin] The World Health Assembly (WHA), opening on the 18th, is expected to serve as an opportunity to gauge the depth of the conflict between the United States and China.

The WHA, the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), is the first WHO meeting held since the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides are expected to present their arguments. According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) and others, the WHA, which includes 194 member states and observers, will be held as a virtual meeting over two days from the 18th to the 19th.

Although this assembly is a forum to review and approve WHO policies and budgets, it strongly serves as a platform for sharing each country's pandemic response know-how after the pandemic. However, it is highly likely that the Western camp, including the United States, will demand accountability from China for COVID-19 at this assembly. While previous confrontations were off-stage, this assembly is expected to be the main game between the two camps.

The Western camp, including the United States, has criticized China’s COVID-19 response, citing suspicions of deliberate concealment and intentional delayed announcements. Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that "relations with China could be completely severed," putting the bilateral relationship on a hair-trigger. Additionally, Trump’s announcement that he has something to reveal about the WHO might come during the assembly. With 194 member states attending, the impact could be maximized.

China’s backlash is also expected to be strong. First, China is likely to demand disclosure of infection information regarding U.S. military personnel who participated in the 7th CISM Military World Games held in Wuhan, China, in October last year. China claims that although COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, the suspected patient was not Chinese but American. This is also a rebuttal to the U.S. claim that the COVID-19 virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.

China is also expected to argue that COVID-19 had already spread in the United States by early January this year, and that politicians are shifting responsibility to China to cover up their own failures. According to SCMP, Chinese state media are preparing to counter the claims of the Western camp, including the United States, at this assembly, stating that U.S. politicians are blaming China for their pandemic response failures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.