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Work in progress at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, in 2002. Research at the facility, equipped to handle dangerous pathogens such as Ebola and plague, was suspended in 2019 over safety concerns. Photo: AFP
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Explainer | Why US probe into coronavirus origins may make health cooperation with China difficult

  • China has been opposed to the US investigation from the outset, alleging political manipulation and asserting the need for ‘science, not intelligence’
  • Wuhan Institute of Virology versus Fort Detrick is just the beginning, as analyst sees the coronavirus becoming a persistent issue in US-China relations
Coronavirus pandemic
Jack Lau
Jack Lau
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President Joe Biden in May tasked US intelligence agencies with reaching a “definitive conclusion” on the origins of the Covid-19 virus, including the possibility that it emerged from a lab accident, after a first American probe proved inconclusive.
While the findings of the 90-day US investigation have yet to be released, the process itself has already drawn the ire of Beijing, which is opposed to inquiries that aim to study whether the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in the central Chinese city that reported the first major Covid-19 outbreak. This includes plans by the World Health Organization (WHO) to revisit the lab for a new investigation.

How has China reacted to the US investigation?

China is opposed to the US probe because it is being conducted by American intelligence agencies, not scientists from across the world working under the banner of the WHO.

“Origin-tracing needs science, not intelligence,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

02:23

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Lu Xiang, a senior researcher on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China is not opposed to an origin-tracking investigation, if similar investigations are conducted in other countries, especially the US.

“It’s not like a country reporting the first outbreak is in the wrong. If, in the end, after investigations in multiple countries, Wuhan is indeed shown to be the origin of Covid-19, that conclusion is not something to be disputed or avoided; it’s [the result of] a scientific inquiry,” he said.

Beijing has attempted to counter the lab leak hypothesis linked to the Wuhan institute by drawing attention to a germ laboratory at the Fort Detrick military base in Maryland, which it says was potentially another source of the virus, citing a 2019 shutdown over safety violations related to the disposal of dangerous materials.

What does China say is the reason behind the US probe?

Beijing has consistently characterised the probe as the politicisation of a scientific inquiry to “smear China”, with state media claiming without providing evidence that the US intended to divert attention from the pandemic at home, where the most deaths from Covid-19 have been recorded.

“The US’ objective is very clear. It is to shift away responsibility for its ineffective epidemic control and to achieve the political aim of smearing and oppressing other countries,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in July.

In March, the WHO-backed team of experts concluded that the leak theory was “extremely unlikely”, after an investigation with Chinese scientists that included a visit to Wuhan.
The US and 13 other countries said in a joint statement at the time that the experts had lacked access to “complete, original data and samples”, and such scientific missions should be afforded “conditions that produce independent and objective recommendations and findings”.
On August 12, the WHO also called on China to provide raw data and blood samples of early and potential Covid-19 patients from 2019 and grant access to the Wuhan virology institute.
Liang Wannian, the Chinese co-leader of the joint China-WHO investigation, said however that raw data of the patients had been left out of the report to protect their privacy.

How might the US move affect relations with China?

The coronavirus pandemic, especially the distribution of vaccines, has been touted as an area where China and the US could cooperate, despite fraught relations in recent years.

In its statement announcing the US probe in May, the White House said it would “press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation”.

02:20

Biden administration will start 90-day probe into pandemic’s origin, press China for transparency

Biden administration will start 90-day probe into pandemic’s origin, press China for transparency

But it would be hard for the two countries to work together on health matters after the investigation because of the US’ domestic political climate, Lu from the Academy of Social Sciences said.

“Even if Biden himself wants to respect science, it has been hard for him to build an environment where everyone in his country respects science,” he said, pointing to political debates over mass vaccination and masking.

The probe is likely to make the origins of the Covid-19 virus a persistent issue in US-China relations, and it would be difficult for Beijing to counter US accusations that it was being opaque and uncooperative, Lu said.
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