China has recently defended its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that it has been open and transparent regarding the origins of the virus. The statement comes as a response to criticisms from the United States and other countries, who have accused China of withholding information about the virus and its origins.
No Consensus
The U.S. Department of Energy recently shared that they had “low confidence” that the virus was leaked from a lab. The report has not been released to the public, and Washington officials have made it clear that there is not a consensus among government agencies on the origin.
At a daily briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning Mao stated that China has “shared the most data and research results on virus tracing and made important contributions to global virus tracing research.”
Mao’s remarks come after the Biden administration criticized China for its lack of transparency and cooperation in the early days of the pandemic. A WHO expert group claimed last year that “key pieces of data” were still missing that would explain how the pandemic began. In response to the criticism, Mao stated, “Politicizing the issue of virus tracing will not smear China but will only damage the U.S.’s own credibility.”
Put on The Spot
China has faced increasing pressure from the international community to be more transparent about the origins of the virus. In March 2020, the WHO sent a team of experts to China to investigate the origins of the virus. The team was allowed to visit Wuhan and conduct investigations, but their report was criticized for lacking transparency and not providing definitive answers about the origins of the virus.
Since the release of the WHO report, several countries, including the United States, have called for a new, independent investigation into the origins of the virus. China has rejected these calls, stating that it has provided all relevant information about the virus and that any further investigations would be politically motivated.
Some people are skeptical of China’s motivations, citing China's lack of transparency in the early days of the pandemic and its refusal to allow for an independent investigation as reasons to continue questioning them.
The origins of the virus remain a contentious issue, with many unanswered questions. While some experts believe that the virus originated from a wet market in Wuhan, others have suggested that it may have leaked from a laboratory in the city. The debate over the origins of the virus has become politicized, with some countries using the issue to blame China for the spread of the virus.
Some scientists are open-minded when it comes to the lab-leak theory, but many still believe the virus originated in wild animals, mutated, and began infecting humans. Some experts even claim the origin of the virus might not be known for years, possibly never.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.