Beijing denies producing bio-weapons

Beijing denies producing bio-weapons after The Australian’s revelation over weaponising SARS coronavirus.

Beijing has denied it is producing bio-weapons in response to The Australian’s revelation its military scientists discussed weaponising SARS coronavirus five years before the emergency of COVID-19.

The Weekend Australian’s exclusive reporting has raised questions about the origins of the pandemic. The reports were based on a document, written by People’s Liberation Army scientists and senior Chinese public health officials in 2015, obtained by the US State Department.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said the country did not develop, research or produce bio-weapons.

“China has always strictly fulfilled its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention,” she said at a press briefing.

Ms Chunying also accused the United States of conducting a “smear campaign” against China.

“Some in the US take every opportunity to cite and play up so-called ‘internal documents’ and ‘reports’ to denigrate and smear China. However, facts and truth always prove that they are either the offender playing the defendant, or making vicious interpretations by taking words out of context or with presumption of guilt, or spreading sheer lies.”

Ms Chunying said the document, obtained by the US State Department, was a “piece of openly available academic work”

“It cited relevant research by former US Colonel Michael Ainscough and pointed out that ‘next generation bioweapons’ are part of US air force projects which are aimed at helping the US to better cope with the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The argument by Ainscough shows that it is the US that is researching the technology of genetic engineering applied to bio-warfare and bio-terrorism.”

Ms Chunying also said that a number of countries were “gravely concerned” about bio-labs built by the US on its shores and overseas.

“People are eager to know: Why did the US set up so many bio-labs around the world? What’s it after? How much sensitive biological resources and information did the US acquire from relevant countries? What activities are carried out at Fort Detrick and its overseas bio-labs? Are they somehow linked to the US research on ‘next generation bioweapons’?

“The US owes the international community an honest, transparent and responsible answer to those questions.”