STATEMENT | US origins tracing of Covid-19 by intelligence community harmful

On 26 May 2021, US President Joe Biden, taking aim at China, ordered the intelligence community to finish an origins tracing report within 90 days. On 27 August, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States released a summary of the intelligence community assessment on COVID-19 origins, which does not rule out either natural exposure or laboratory accident as the origins of COVID-19. The report wrongly claims that China “continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information and blame other countries”. The statement by the White House issued on the same day also purported that China tries to hold back international investigation and rejects calls for transparency. It urges like-minded partners to exert pressure on China. Both the summary and the statement, stuffed with familiar “American flavors” of hegemony and bullying, are malicious and harmful.
Firstly, origins tracing by the US intelligence community of COVID-19 sets a bad precedent of politicizing virus origins tracing. Origins tracing of COVID-19 is a complex issue of science. It should and can only be undertaken by scientists around the world through joint research. Biden’s 90-day deadline is essentially an anti-science political manipulation that places the arrogance of politicians above laws of science. In fact, most scientists around the world are endorsing a natural origins theory for COVID-19; the science-based origins tracing in China also concluded that the introduction of the coronavirus through a laboratory incident was extremely unlikely. However, the US government, out of its political agenda as well as all-time political logic of selectiveness, discarded science-based origins tracing and resorted to the intelligence agencies in an attempt to deceive the world and call black white with the help of its hegemony. If the international community doesn’t resolutely oppose this, the US is likely to be more unscrupulous and wanton in convicting other countries for its selfish interests, and the world will thus be in unending chaos.
Secondly, origins tracing by the US intelligence community of COVID-19 is misdirecting the origins tracing efforts. China, like other countries, is a victim of the pandemic, and we all hope to find out the origins of the virus and cut off its transmission as early as possible. China has all along supported science-based origins tracing. Early this year, WHO experts came to China for origins tracing research as part of its global origins tracing endeavor. China upholds the principles of openness, transparency, science and cooperation, fully supports the work of the experts, and sets an example for the world. The US government, out of the purpose of fatiguing, blackmailing and containing China, takes the wrong path of resorting to intelligence community for origins tracing conclusions. It ignores the authoritative conclusion in the Joint Report by the WHO-China joint study team, neglects the strong appeal of the international community of halting politicization of origins tracing, shuns the fact that the COVID-19 cases popping up in various places and some evidence implying the US as the origin of the virus. Its despicable behavior undermines the just and fair atmosphere as well as the foundation of international cooperation in origins tracing. If we don’t purge the political virus, the science-based origins tracing will be stumbling.
Thirdly, origins tracing by the US intelligence community of COVID-19 is poisoning the atmosphere for the international cooperation in fighting COVID-19. Statistics from the WHO show that the pandemic is continuing to spread around the world with more than 200 million confirmed cases and 4.5 million deaths. In the US, the pandemic is also rebounding. The international community needs cooperation in combating the virus more than ever. Nevertheless, the US, turning a blind eye to the tragedy caused by the pandemic, is still obsessed with political manipulation on the origins tracing. Meanwhile, it also intimidates the WHO, silences experts and scholars, creates a “chilling effect”, seriously hampering international cooperation in fighting the pandemic. The wrongdoings are strongly opposed by the international community. Compared with the perverse practice of the US, China, acting on the vision of a global community of health for all, is vigorously promoting international cooperation in combating the virus. China has been and is donating vaccines to more than 100 countries, and has exported vaccines to more than 60 countries, with a total exceeding 770 million doses, ranking the world’s first. In a written message to the first meeting of the international forum on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that China will provide 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the world and offer 100 million U.S. dollars to COVAX throughout this year, making substantial contribution and creating sound atmosphere for jointly fighting COVID-19, and thus winning world-wide accolades.
Just as Chinese President Xi Jinping has said, “Big countries should behave in a manner befitting their status and with a greater sense of responsibility.” However, the US, after the outbreak of the pandemic, has failed its national responsibility to protect people’s lives and health, as well as its international responsibility befitting its status. We want to once again urge the US side to immediately stop doing anything that poisons the atmosphere for international cooperation on origins tracing or undermines global solidarity against the pandemic, and return to the right track of science-based origins tracing and cooperation in the face of the pandemic.

Liu Xianfa
Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR