On April 18th, the official page of the White House launched a website about COVID-19, according to which, the coronavirus originated from a lab leak in China. The website also criticized the former US President, Joe Biden, a former top U.S. health official, Anthony Fauci, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the white paper published by Xinhua, China accused the United States of politicizing the subject of the origins of COVID-19 and used the Missouri lawsuit to prove its point, as a result of which a $24 billion obligation was imposed on China for covering up the outbreak and hoarding protective health equipment.
The document emphasizes that there is evidence that the Coronavirus existed in the United States earlier than the officially claimed timeline. Additionally, China talks about the neglect of the severity of the epidemic by the US government, which compared it to the common flu, as well as insisted that the coronavirus would disappear one day automatically. The white paper also underlines that such an attitude from the U.S. severed international cooperation, and the withholding of information by the state interfered with the research conducted by other countries and the WHO.
Apart from the above-mentioned, the Chinese side used the joint study of the WHO and China to prove the country’s innocence, according to which, the lab leak in China is “extremely unlikely”. China calls on the U.S. to respond to the legitimate concerns of the international community.
The renewed discussion around the origins of the coronavirus is a part of the heightened tensions between China and the United States, which is apparent in trade, as well as many other matters – in the context of increased competition between two countries, attention is focused on any issue that will help the parties gain an advantage.
