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BEIJING – China said on Friday that it supports a review led by the World Health Organization on the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, but only “after the pandemic has ended.”
The comments from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came as China faced mounting global pressure to allow an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic.
The review should be carried out in an “open, transparent and inclusive” manner under the leadership of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Hua said at a press conference.
He added that it should be at an “appropriate time after the pandemic ends.”
But Hua did not say the review should investigate the origins of the virus, despite mounting calls by the United States and Australia for an international investigation into the matter, which has become a key point in the worsening of tensions between Washington. and Beijing.
Instead, the review should “summarize the experience and shortcomings of the international response to the pandemic, strengthen WHO’s work, improve the construction of countries’ basic public health capacities, and provide suggestions for improving global preparedness against the main infectious diseases, “Hua said.
She said China will cooperate with WHO’s efforts to trace the origin, but rejected the United States’ requests for an investigation, accusing it of “politicizing the issue.”
Hua stressed that any consultation should be based on the International Health Regulations and be authorized by the World Health Assembly or the Executive Committee, WHO’s double governing bodies.
WHO epidemiologist Dr. Maria van Kerkhove said Wednesday the agency is in talks with China to send a mission to investigate the animal source of the virus.
Both US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have strongly criticized China’s alleged lack of transparency and reiterated the theory that the virus emerged from a Wuhan maximum-security virology laboratory.
The claim has become a key point of dispute between China and the US. And Beijing accuses US Republican politicians. USA To blame as an electoral strategy.
Most scientists believe that the virus originated from animals before it was transmitted to humans.
Numerous countries, including France, Germany and Britain, have also called for greater transparency from China on their handling of the virus.
China has strongly denied the allegations of concealing information related to the initial outbreak, insisting that it has always shared information with WHO and other countries in a timely manner.
© Agence France-Presse
China, COVID-19, coronavirus, WHO, COVID-19 research, World Health Organization, ANC
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