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United States President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was confident that the coronavirus could have originated from a Chinese virology laboratory, but declined to describe the evidence, raising tensions with Beijing about the origins of the deadly outbreak.
The rump was not speechless at a White House event on Thursday, when asked if he had seen evidence that gave him a “high degree of confidence,” the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“Yes, yes,” he said, and declined to give details. “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”
The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations, and other US officials have downplayed their likelihood. Most experts believe that the virus originated from a wildlife retail market in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.
Trump has shown mounting frustration with China in recent weeks over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the United States alone, sparked an economic downturn and threatened his chances for reelection in November.
The Republican president previously said his administration was trying to determine if the coronavirus emanated from Wuhan’s laboratory, following media reports that it could have been artificially synthesized in a state-backed laboratory in China or perhaps escaped. of said installation.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that it was not known if the virus came from the laboratory.
“We don’t know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We don’t know if it emanated from the wet market or elsewhere. We don’t know those answers,” Pompeo said in an interview with Newsradio. 1040.
The spread of the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, has contributed to an increasingly deep rift between the Trump administration and China. Beijing suggested that the US Army. USA It could have brought the virus to China, and Trump said China failed to alert the world to the risks in a timely and transparent manner.
Trump also said Thursday that China may not be able to stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread. He declined to say whether he blamed Chinese President Xi Jinping for what he feels is misinformation about the emergence of the coronavirus.
Trump said of China’s efforts to get to the bottom of how the virus emerged: “At least they seem to be trying to be somewhat transparent with us.”
“But let’s find out. You will learn in the not too distant future. But something terrible happened, whether they made a mistake or if it started as a mistake and then made another one. Or did someone do something on purpose?” He said.
Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that he was looking for different options in terms of consequences for Beijing on the virus. “I can do a lot,” he said.
Reuters
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