China 'open' to international effort in identifying true origin of COVID-19

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on May 24 that China is 'open' to the international effort in identifying the source of the novel coronavirus. The latest development came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping joined a resolution at the World Health Assembly seeking to identify the origin of the deadly disease. China had for months denied any foreign investigation into the source of the virus in the country, rejecting claims made by health experts that the virus emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan. 

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US-China on brink of cold war

Wang Yi during his interaction with reporters also warned the United States of a nearing 'cold war', which he blamed on some political forces in Washington who are taking US-China relations hostage. The United States had accused Beijing of not sharing full information about the disease with the international community, going as far as to claim that the virus emerged at a virology laboratory in Wuhan and it is not of natural occurring. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had rejected the claim made by the United States terming it as 'speculative'. However, with growing pressure from the global community, it seems Beijing is willing to let an investigation into the true origin of the disease. 

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(Image Credit: AP)