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China makes stunning accusation about which country should be blamed for Covid outbreak

China has blamed the US for the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming America was attempting to “shift the blame” with Donald Trump’s lab leak claim.

Trump administration replaces COVID website with lab leak page

China pointed its finger at the United States for originating Covid-19, claiming America was attempting to “shift the blame” after President Donald Trump declared the deadly disease was leaked from a Wuhan lab.

The communist regime argued that “substantial evidence” suggested that Covid might have come from the US earlier than the outbreak in China while insisting the lab leak theory was “extremely unlikely” in a white paper.

“The US government, instead of facing squarely its failure in response to Covid-19 and reflecting on its shortcomings, has tried to shift the blame and divert people’s attention by shamelessly politicising SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing,” Chinese officials complained.

President Donald Trump declared the deadly disease was leaked from a Wuhan lab. Picture: AP Photo
President Donald Trump declared the deadly disease was leaked from a Wuhan lab. Picture: AP Photo

The report also claimed Covid-19 was circulating around the US earlier than it was officially determined.

The Chinese accusations come after the White House revamped its Covid-19 information earlier this month to push out the assertion that Covid-19 leaked out of a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“A lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely the origin of COVID-19,” according to a section on the new White House web page.

The Chinese accusations come after the White House revamped its Covid-19 information earlier this month to push out the assertion that Covid-19 leaked out of a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Picture: AFP
The Chinese accusations come after the White House revamped its Covid-19 information earlier this month to push out the assertion that Covid-19 leaked out of a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Picture: AFP

“Current government mechanisms for overseeing this dangerous gain-of-function research are incomplete, severely convoluted, and lack global applicability.”

The CIA in January said the pandemic was more likely started in a lab instead of nature after it previously couldn’t reach a determination.

But the agency cautioned it had “low confidence” and made clear the lab origin and natural origin both remain plausible.

A House panel, as well as other federal agencies like the FBI, reached similar conclusions about the lab leak theory.

But China stressed in the white paper that according to a past joint study conducted with the World Health Organisation, it found Covid-19 was probably transmitted from bats to humans through another animal.

The CIA in January said the pandemic was more likely started in a lab instead of nature after it previously couldn’t reach a determination. Picture: AFP
The CIA in January said the pandemic was more likely started in a lab instead of nature after it previously couldn’t reach a determination. Picture: AFP

The Chinese report, which also delved into prevention and control of the disease, additionally bashed the US for not doing more to combat Covid-19.

“It has severely undermined joint international efforts in the fight against the pandemic and become a weak link in global public health governance,” China said — though the country has also faced accusations it covered up the severity of the virus in the early months.

“The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct,” Chinese officials wrote in part of the report.

This story originally appeared in the New York Post.

Originally published as China makes stunning accusation about which country should be blamed for Covid outbreak

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Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/news/world/north-america/china-makes-stunning-accusation-about-which-country-should-be-blamed-for-covid-outbreak/news-story/7bfc429a7afa7f3797b387663e70d4b2