US President’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that Chinese authorities had not provided “sufficient original data” on the origin and subsequent spread of the new coronavirus, which has infected more than 28 million Americans.
“I am about to publish a report on the origins of the pandemic in Wuhan, China, which we have questions about, because we do not believe that Beijing has provided enough original data on how this pandemic began to spread in both China. and later around the world, ”said Jake Sullivan
On February 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) mission, which conducted an investigation in Wuhan, ruled out the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 came from a laboratory, while considering that the virus may have reached in China from other countries, through the cold frozen food chain.
Faced with the controversy caused by the announcement made by the mission of experts, the director of health emergencies within the WHO, Mike Ryan, reacted on February 15, stating that the purpose of the visit was not to “investigate China”, but to learn lessons for the future.
What Jake Sullivan said about the transparency of the Chinese government
Jake Sullivan stressed that “the only way to have a scientifically based investigation is to have access to all the data and not just (…) to know what happened in this pandemic and to be able to prevent future pandemics.”
“I am not in a position to say how COVID-19 came about,” added the US president’s adviser. “All I can do is ask the WHO to do its best.”
In this context, he spoke in favor of the investigation being carried out by specialists. The investigation “should be left to scientists and experts so that they can carry it out without any government intervention.”
Jake Sullivan also referred to a two-hour conversation that White House leader Joe Biden had with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
“President Biden raised the issue of COVID-19, stressing the need for all countries to take responsibility for helping to protect the world, including China,” said Jake Sullivan.
The national security adviser pointed out that Washington “is unable to make a decision on the origin” of the pandemic because, among other things, “there was not enough transparency from the Chinese government.”
The United States is the country most affected by the pandemic, with more than 28 million people infected and nearly 500,000 deaths, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, Agrepres writes.
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