Friday,16 July 2021 (YJC) _ China said it was reviewing plans for further inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
China said it was reviewing plans for further inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, after the World Health Organization chief urged Beijing to cooperate in the next phase of the investigation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing Friday that Beijing was mulling over a proposal made by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Zhao reaffirmed China’s position that any decision on continuing the probe “should be reached by all members through consultation.”
“The Chinese side noted the draft plan made by Tedros and the secretariat and the Chinese side is looking into it,” Zhao said in response to a question about Tedros’s comments. “Origin-tracing is a scientific matter. All parties should respect the opinion of the scientists and should refrain from politicizing origin-tracing.”
The WHO chief’s remarks were the latest in a series of international efforts to press Beijing for more openness about the first known coronavirus outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Tedros said scientists still lacked enough raw data on infections and possible cases in late 2019.
“We’re asking China to be transparent and open and cooperate,” Tedros said, adding the WHO would be discussing a second phase of the origin search with member states.
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