Opinion | What China supports and opposes about COVID-19 origin tracing

By Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the HKSAR

As many parts of the world are facing a new wave of COVID-19, the international community needs more than ever to fight the pandemic together. However, the US and a few other countries have kept using the origin tracing of COVID-19 to confuse right and wrong and continually played up the "lab leak theory" to stigmatize and bully China. Here, China reiterates its position on COVID-19 origin tracing.

China supports science-based origin study and opposes the politicization of origin tracing by citing so-called "intelligence". Origin tracing is a matter of science. It should be and can only be left to scientists to identify, through scientific research, the virus's source and transmission routes to humans. No country has the right to put its own political interests above people's lives, nor should a matter of science be politicized. According to informed sources, despite no scientific support, the U.S. intelligence agencies are gearing up efforts in putting together an investigation report on the origin tracing to make up the "lab leak theory".

U.S. research institutions and U.S. allies also believe that the virus was almost certainly not created artificially, and that it will be highly unlikely for there to be definitive conclusions within 90 days which can verify the "lab leak theory". However, the US still intends to release the report by the end of August as planned, make up misleading conclusions, and raise suspicion on virus-leaking from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Putting intelligence agencies in charge of such a scientific matter, the US government showed its real intention, which is nothing more than playing its old trick of smearing China and making some noise about "holding China accountable".

China supports the WHO-China joint study report and opposes reinventing the wheel in disregard of the WHA resolution. China invited WHO experts to the country twice for origin-tracing research. In March this year, WHO officially released the Joint Report by the WHO-China joint study team, which provides the most authoritative, professional and science-based conclusions on origin tracing. The report must be respected and implemented by all parties, including WHO. The future work of global origin tracing should and must proceed from that basis, instead of starting anew. The WHO Secretariat should act on the WHA resolution, conduct thorough consultation with member states on the global origin-tracing work plan, including the follow-up mechanism.

Very importantly, the plan for origin tracing involving a particular country must be decided through consultation with the country concerned. Up to now, nearly 70 countries, including Russia, have written to WHO, agreeing with the results of the first-phase study and opposing the politicization of origin tracing. Unfortunately, the US has continued to pressure WHO and Director General Tedros to launch the "second-phase origin tracing" on China as soon as possible and call for conducting a third-party independent investigation outside the framework of WHO with allies. As the leading power in the world, instead of shouldering its due international responsibility, the US has attempted to use WHO as a tool for self-interest, which derailed global efforts to fight the pandemic and fueled the global spread of the virus.

China supports the global fight against COVID-19 and opposes politicizing the pandemic by using the virus for stigmatization and using origin tracing as a tool. Since the onset of COVID-19, acting on the vision of a global community of health for all, China has shared response experience with the international community in a timely manner, provided anti-COVID assistance to the world to the best of its ability, and taken the lead in conducting the largest scale global vaccine cooperation, thus making an outstanding contribution to global public health security.

The virus knows no borders and does not distinguish between races. China, like other countries, is a victim of the pandemic, and we all hope to find out the origin of the virus and cut off its transmission as early as possible. Going forward, China will continue to work with other parties to carry out science-based global origin tracing, and contribute China's part to humanity's final victory over COVID-19.

The US, in contrast, does not focus on controlling the domestic spread of the virus or supporting developing countries; rather, it is pressing its allies, the media and scientists to smear China and coercing some other countries to go along with its strategic attempts for containing China. Some in the US have admitted that, although there has been no and will not be any tangible progress in an origin-tracing investigation about China, launching the investigation itself bears its meaning, which is to exhaust China's diplomatic resources, increase U.S. leverage towards China and hedge against China's influence.

The US government and media are pitting themselves against China and have turned a blind eye to global calls for more scientific investigation in multiple countries and regions, including the Fort Detrick lab. Their act completely goes against the justified position of the international community that advocates scientific origin tracing and cooperation.

Weaponizing origin tracing to bash China betrays the spirit of science, undermines global solidarity against the virus, and outrages the conscience of mankind. Even today, the US holds on to its hegemonic logic of "dominating the world for its own interests," which runs counter to the historical trend. After all, hegemony and power politics cannot stop the virus, and solidarity and cooperation is the only way out. As more and more people become aware of the real motive of the US, the international community will stand up against its hypocrisy and its political manipulation is doomed to fail.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.