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The European Union has increased diplomatic pressure on China, urging it to cooperate in investigating the origin of the nCoV.
“I think research is important for all of us. I mean for everyone, very important,” said the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen on May 1 in response to a question from CNBC is analyzing whether China should cooperate with the European Union (EU) to find out how Covid-19 exploded.
“It is not known when the next virus will break out, so we all want to learn from this lesson and establish an effective early warning, and the world must contribute to it.” she said.
Von der Leyen called for an investigation the day after EC foreign policy adviser Josep Borrell confirmed that China had tried to pressure the EU regarding a report on propaganda campaigns. The bias is related to the Chinese origin Covid-19.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaks in Brussels, Belgium, in July 2019. Photos: Reuters
Earlier this week, the Swedish government said it had planned to ask the EU to open an investigation into the origin of nCoV, the response from the World Health Organization (WHO).
China has repeatedly rejected requests for international research for nCoV, saying it should not “politicize” what it calls the “scientific problem.” China’s unwillingness to cooperate in the investigations has led many countries to continue expressing diplomatic pressure with them.
The President of the European Commission rejected concerns that promoting investigations into the origin of nCoV would undermine relations with Beijing. The United States has previously called for an investigation into the origin of nCoV.
President Donald Trump said the United States government was considering the nCoV hypothesis that it could come from a laboratory in Wuhan. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that nCoV was not an artificial or genetically modified virus, but said it was investigating the possibility that it was accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
Other European leaders have also demanded that Beijing be more transparent about Covid-19, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, although their claims were less direct than Ms. Von der der’s. Leyen French President Macron’s office has rejected Trump’s allegations that the virus could come from a virus lab in Wuhan.
A European diplomatic source said it was China’s propaganda efforts in Europe that made the EU tougher on the country. Chinese diplomats have launched fierce social media campaigns to refute accusations that Beijing must be responsible for the pandemic.
More than 200 countries and territories have appeared Covid-19, causing almost 3.4 million infected people, more than 239,000 died. The United States and Europe are currently the largest epidemic regions in the world.
Mai Lam (The O SCMP)
