China warns US over virus probe, says WHO must work free from 'political interference'

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijan said that the World Health Organization (WHO) experts probing the origins of the coronavirus must be allowed to work free from “political interference”. The WHO team has left quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan to start fieldwork in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the deadly virus. Their mission has become publicly charged as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.

On January 28, while speaking to Chinese local media reporter, Lijan said that China hopes the US can “respect facts and science, respect the hard work of the WHO expert team”. He added that Beijing also hopes that the researchers will be allowed to work “free from political interference”. Lijan’s comments come after US President Joe Biden’s administration weighed in before the WHO experts had even left their hotel. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that it was “imperative we get to the bottom” of how coronavirus appeared and spread worldwide. She voiced concern over “misinformation” from sources in China and urged a “robust and clear” probe. 

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A firm conclusion may take years: Ex-WHO official 

Coronavirus is believed to have come from bats and to have initially spread from a wet market in Wuhan where wild animals were sold as food. The WHO visit is taking place only after China approved it following months of negotiations. However, it still remains unclear if the experts will be allowed to talk either to the patients or the families of the victims.

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The WHO has insisted that the visit will be tightly tethered to the science of how the virus, which has killed more than two million people and laid waste to the global economy, jumped from animals to humans. However, former WHO official Keiji Fukuda earlier this month had cautioned against expecting any breakthroughs. He had said that it may take years before any firm conclusions can be made on the virus’ origin. 

Meanwhile, it is important to mention that a recent internal meeting recording has exposed a story that was drastically different from the “very impressive, and beyond words” transparency previously touted of the Chinese government because they, in fact, did delay the information on COVID-19. As per AP report, the WHO officials privately complained in the meetings held in the week of January 6, 2020, that China shared limited information on a possible outbreak, costing a valuable time and a great cost as the global cases of COVID-19 have now surpassed the grim milestone of 100 million. The United Nations (UN) health agency officials showcased considerable frustration on receiving ‘very minimal information’, not enough to formulate a global response, from China. 

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