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Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaDiplomacy

Coronavirus: European Union ratchets up pressure on China with call to cooperate with inquiry

  • European Commission president says knowing facts around origins of Covid-19 pandemic is crucial to develop early warning system
  • China’s attempted propaganda efforts said to have prompted Europe’s tougher stance

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dismissed worries that any investigation would weaken ties with China. Photo: dpa
Stuart Lau
The European Union has urged China to cooperate with an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, increasing diplomatic pressure on Beijing for greater transparency.
The call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came a day after her foreign policy aide Josep Borrell confirmed that China attempted to put pressure on the EU ahead of a report detailing the Chinese government’s disinformation campaigns.
Earlier this week, the Swedish government said it planned to ask the EU to launch an investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus, and into the World Health Organisation’s handling of the pandemic. The deadly virus so far has infected more than 1.3 million people in Europe – over a third of cases worldwide.
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Beijing has been sidestepping calls for international inquiries into the virus, calling for “depoliticisation” – for politics to be taken out – of what it insists is a scientific matter. This unwillingness to commit to a joint investigation has resulted in more countries making the demand on China.

A vendor delivers goods at a reopened food market in Cisternino, Italy, on Monday. Some European nations, such as hard-hit Italy, are beginning to ease coronavirus restrictions. Photo: Reuters
A vendor delivers goods at a reopened food market in Cisternino, Italy, on Monday. Some European nations, such as hard-hit Italy, are beginning to ease coronavirus restrictions. Photo: Reuters
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Asked if China should cooperate with the European Commission to find out how Covid-19 emerged, von der Leyen said on CNBC on Friday, “Yes, I think this is – for all of us – important. I mean for the whole world it is important”.

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