China: "The US Must Also Undergo Transparent COVID-19 Investigation"

Wang Wenbin, Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] As the United States expressed skepticism about the World Health Organization (WHO) research results investigating the origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, China also pushed back, saying the U.S. should be investigated.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a regular briefing on the 10th, "There are research reports indicating that the COVID-19 virus appeared in various parts of the world in the second half of 2019," expressing this position.

Spokesperson Wang claimed that the time when COVID-19 first appeared in the United States may have been earlier than the time when the U.S. officially announced its first confirmed case.

Wang said, "Tracing the origin of COVID-19 is a complex scientific issue that requires cooperation among scientists worldwide," adding, "China cooperated with WHO experts to study COVID-19 in Wuhan, and they also gave positive evaluations."

When asked whether China would allow additional visits by the WHO, Wang avoided a direct answer, saying, "Similar studies on other countries are necessary and urgent," and "We hope each country invites WHO experts to conduct research to contribute to the realization of a global health community."

Meanwhile, WHO experts released the results of their investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, the previous day, effectively siding with China by stating they "failed to find the virus origin."

Peter Ben Embarek, the food safety and animal diseases expert leading the WHO investigation team, ruled out the lab leak hypothesis, saying, "The hypothesis that the COVID-19 virus was accidentally released from a laboratory is extremely unlikely, and no further investigation is needed," thereby clearing the Wuhan Virus Research Institute.

In this regard, the United States stated that the Chinese government did not disclose sufficient data and intends to make judgments based on WHO data and its own information. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a briefing, "We want to independently review the WHO investigation results and the underlying data."

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