Transparency stops pandemics

It’s a fair bet China will see Scott Morrison’s phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday as evidence of an Australian-US conspiracy to defame it over the genesis and spread of the coronavirus. So will it be incensed by reports that in calls to other world leaders, including Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Bill Gates, the Prime Minister made the case for the World Health Organisation to be given the powers of an international weapons inspector mandated to enter a country without invitation to trace the source of future pandemics. Beijing will be deluding only itself, however, if it sees either Mr Morrison’s calls or Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s sensible suggestion on Sunday for an independent international review of the pandemic as an attack on China. The sooner Beijing and its Canberra embassy understand that, the better it will be for China’s claims that despite universal criticism over the coronavirus, it wants to be regarded as a responsible global citizen.

As Senator Payne wrote in our pages on Wednesday, the pandemic, which indisputably originated in Wuhan, has literally “stopped the world”. The death toll is heading towards 200,000. Trillions of dollars have been stripped from the global economy. The impacts will grow. “Governments,” Senator Payne pointed out, “owe it to their people to work with the rest of the world to find answers, learn lessons and avoid repeats of this catastrophe … COVID-19 is now a global problem. It is right that the world should seek answers and learn lessons. That disinformation has spread shows the importance of collectively pursuing transparency.” In litigating the case for a review to “consider the genesis and spread of the pandemic, evaluate the different approaches to dealing with it, explain how information has been shared, and assess the engagement of the WHO in the response”, Senator Payne avoided mentioning China by name. But it should be obvious to Beijing that a review which uncovered the truth about the pandemic would be as much in its interests as in the interests of the rest of the world as it battles the vast health and economic consequences of what began in Wuhan. As foreign editor Greg Sheridan argues, this does not constitute interference in China’s domestic affairs.

Beijing’s mindless rejection of Canberra’s suggestion for a review, and the carry-on of its forlorn diplomats here, reflect the self-deception, cover-up and brazen rewriting of history that has from the start characterised the handling of the virus outbreak by the authoritarian communist regime led by Xi Jinping. China, too, needs answers. The Morrison government, acting with governments across the world, must be unrelenting in bringing the pressure needed to persuade Beijing to help in providing them. Transparency and accountability are imperative. Otherwise we may as well all, China included, prepare for a similar catastrophe in a year or two.