China supports investigation of WHO and coronavirus pandemic
- European-led resolution is adopted by member states of the international health body
- Beijing says decision in line with the wishes of most countries around the world
The resolution, which was drafted and promoted by the European Union but did not identify any country by name, called for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the pandemic, including the actions of the WHO.
At a virtual meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, the United States, which has accused the WHO of being a “puppet of China”, did not block the adoption of the resolution.
The US said that the resolution was the “first critical step” in ensuring the world health body could play its roles and that there was an international system capable of “responding effectively” to the next pandemic. But it also “dissociated” itself from the resolution’s statement on rights for poor countries to waive intellectual property rules in obtaining medicine in emergencies, Reuters reported.
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