‘Nothing but a joke’: China hits out at Australia’s claims of vindication over coronavirus inquiry

Chinese embassy says draft resolution on probe at World Health Assembly ‘totally different’ from Canberra’s proposal

As tensions mount, Australia’s trade minister says country is ‘not going to engage in cheap politicking’ over Covid-19

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People watch footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the World Health Assembly on a giant screen in a Beijing street on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 19 May 2020Updated: 11:29pm, 19 May 2020

China on Tuesday said calls for a review into the global response to Covid-19 at the World Health Assembly differed from Australia’s push for an extensive inquiry, amid rising tensions between Beijing and Canberra.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Australia said a draft resolution at the WHA this week on an independent investigation into the pandemic was “totally different from Australia’s proposal of an independent international review”, and that claims it vindicated Canberra’s call for a probe were “nothing but a joke”.

04:21

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in an address to the WHA on Monday that Beijing agreed to a “comprehensive review of the global response to Covid-19 after it is brought under control”, but that it should be conducted objectively and led by the World Health Organisation. He also indicated support for “global research by scientists on the source and transmission routes of the virus”.

Australia on Monday lauded support from more than 120 countries for a draft resolution at the WHA – co-sponsored by members of the European Union and African Group, Russia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – to initiate an “impartial, independent, and comprehensive evaluation” into the WHO’s response to Covid-19. The text also said it would work with the World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation to “identify the zoonotic source of the virus” and how it spread to humans.

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But Beijing had slammed efforts by Australia and the United States for an independent inquiry into its handling of the coronavirus and its origins as “politically motivated” and “based on the presumption of guilt”. As Beijing and Canberra sparred over the proposed probe, Beijing slapped steep tariffs on Australia’s barley exports and banned beef imports from four Australian abattoirs.