China Rejects Criticism on COVID Data Transparency, Says "Sharing Data with International Community"

Mao Ning, Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] As the United States pointed out a lack of transparency in China's epidemiological data related to COVID-19, the Chinese government pushed back, stating that it is sharing information with the international community.

Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 4th, in response to a question about the remarks by Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, who criticized the lack of transparency in the data, "China has conducted over 60 technical exchanges with the World Health Organization (WHO) over the past three years, and even after announcing new epidemic prevention policies (relaxation of prevention measures), we held two more exchanges."

He added, "China continues to share viral genetic data of COVID-19 infection cases through the global influenza shared database."

Spokesperson Mao also emphasized, "We hope all parties focus on combating infectious diseases themselves and refrain from any words or actions that politicize infectious diseases," adding, "We must strengthen unity and work together to overcome infectious diseases as soon as possible."

Regarding the strengthening of quarantine measures for arrivals from China by countries around the world, he said, "China has consistently believed that epidemic prevention measures should be scientific and appropriate," and added, "There should be no political manipulation or discrimination, and normal exchanges and cooperation should not be affected."

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