Covid-19 may have emerged in US first: China tells America to ‘stop playing deaf and dumb', urges probe in new white paper
Beijing hits back at lab leak theory, accuses Washington of politicising the pandemic and calls for probe into early US cases
China has reignited the contentious debate over the origins of Covid-19 by releasing a white paper that accuses the United States of politicising the issue and suggests the virus may have emerged in America before it was detected in Wuhan.
The white paper, published Wednesday via state-run Xinhua news agency, comes in response to renewed allegations from Washington, Reuters reported. On April 18, the US government launched an official Covid-19 website reiterating claims that the virus leaked from a lab in China. The site also criticized former President Joe Biden, Dr Anthony Fauci, and the World Health Organization for failing to hold China accountable.
China's white paper pushes back, citing a Missouri lawsuit that resulted in a symbolic $24 billion ruling against China, accusing Beijing of hoarding personal protective equipment and covering up the initial outbreak. The document calls the ruling politically motivated and legally flawed.
'Substantial evidence suggested the Covid-19 might have emerged in the United States earlier than its officially-claimed timeline, and earlier than the outbreak in China,' the paper asserts, urging the international community to investigate early US cases.
China said it had shared relevant information with the WHO and other countries in a timely and transparent manner. It highlighted the joint WHO-China study, which concluded that a lab leak was 'extremely unlikely.'
'The US should not continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb,' the white paper mentioned, urging Washington to address global concerns rather than deflect blame.
Earlier this year, the CIA said it leaned slightly toward the lab-leak theory over natural origin but admitted having 'low confidence' in its assessment. It maintained that both scenarios remained plausible.
An official from China's National Health Commission also told Xinhua that future origin-tracing efforts should now focus on the United States.
With both sides digging in, the renewed exchange signals that the question of Covid-19's origin remains a geopolitical flashpoint with no clear end in sight.
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