China to not invite experts to investigate source of COVID-19 until 'final victory'

Beijing’s United Nations ambassador, Chen Xu, on May 6 reportedly said that China will not invite international experts to investigate the source of COVID-19 until after securing the ‘final victory’ against the virus. While speaking to international media reporters, Chen said that the country’s priority is first beating the deadly pandemic and countering the ‘absurd and ridiculous’ politicisation of the virus. 

Chen’s comments come after United States President Donald Trump asked China to be ‘transparent’ about the origin of the coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had also said that there is ‘significant amount’ of evidence that the virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan. However, Chen reportedly said that the top priority, for the time being, is to focus on the fight against the pandemic until the country wins the ‘final victory’. 

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While the World Health Organisation is waiting on an invitation from China to take part in its investigation into the animal origins of the virus, Chen said that the country needs the right focus and allocation of the resources. He added that China is not allergic to any kind of investigations, inquiries or evaluations, however, it needs to race with time to save lives as much as the country can. Chen reportedly also said that China will send an invitation to the WHO, but currently, China needs to have the right priority setting at this moment and the right atmosphere as well. 

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Wuhan lab speculations 

Meanwhile, China’s ambassador, Cui Tankai also reportedly called for an end to the ‘blame game’. In the Washington Post column, Cui Tankai warned that accusing China over the virus outbreak could lead to the “decoupling” of the world’s two largest economies. He further even emphasised that it is the time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between the two countries. 

US President Donald Trump and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo have repeatedly claimed that there is evidence that the pathogen came from the Wuhan lab. Leaders have also speculated that the delay coronavirus was human-made and started from contact with infected animals or from an ‘accident’ at the Wuhan lab in China. However, China has strongly denied the allegations. Even the World Health Organisation reportedly said that Washington had offered no evidence to support the ‘speculative’ claims. 

(Image: @Amb_ChenXu/Twitter)

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