Wang Yi: COVID-19 Needs Origin-tracing, and Political Virus also Needs Origin-tracing
2021-07-26 14:59

 

On July 25, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the press jointly with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. A reporter asked how China views a small number of countries using the COVID-19 origin-tracing to smear China.

Wang Yi said, the COVID-19 origin-tracing is a serious scientific issue. Scientists should be allowed to study the origins of the COVID-19 to better prevent future risks. All the foreign ministers I have met agree that the origin-tracing should not be manipulated by politics, and should not be used to blame a certain country, let alone splitting the international community. Only when we unite can we truly defeat the virus.

However, we have seen that from openly calling the virus the "Wuhan virus" last year to outrageously withdrawing from the WHO, the United States has from the very beginning tried to politicize the pandemic, stigmatize the virus, and use origin-tracing as a tool. It has ignored the hard work of scientists and used intelligence means to carry out the so-called origin-tracing, hyping the "lab leak theory" which presumes guilt. The purpose of the United States is very clear. It is to shift responsibility for their botched pandemic response and achieve the political purpose of discrediting and suppressing other countries. It is necessary to remember this ugly page in the annals of mankind's fight against the virus.

Wang Yi emphasized, China has always participated in international origin-tracing cooperation with an open attitude. We have twice invited WHO experts to carry out joint research on origin-tracing and made great efforts to this end. The experts went to all the places they wanted to go, met all the people they wanted to meet, made a scientific conclusion that "a laboratory leak is extremely unlikely", and made important recommendations such as "searching for possible early cases on a global scale" and "studying the possibility of cold-chain transmission of virus". The next phase of tracing should build on this and study early cases in many countries around the world. A few days ago, Chinese medical experts and scientific research experts held a press conference to clarify a series of rumors with facts and data and make clear China's solemn position in a scientific manner.

Wang Yi pointed out, COVID-19 needs origin-tracing, and so does the political virus. A few days ago, the WHO Secretariat notified its member states about a work plan on a second-phase origins study, which has surprised scientists. It is not only inconsistent with the requirements of the 73rd World Health Assembly resolution, but also ignores the conclusions and recommendations of the first-stage joint research report. It seems that when the U.S. returns to the WHO, it does not focus on joining the international fight against the pandemic, but on continuing to spread political viruses through the platform. If any work plan is not a real plan to find the virus, but a plan to discredit China, China, as an independent and sovereign country, will not and cannot accept it. Up until now, nearly 60 countries sent letters to the WHO, agreeing with the results of the first phase of origin-tracing research and opposing the attempt to politicize the study of the origins.

Wang Yi reiterated, origin-tracing needs cooperation rather than discrediting, truth rather than lies, and respecting science rather than political manipulation. China would continue to support and participate in global origin-tracing cooperation in the spirit of openness, transparency, science and cooperation.

 

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