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Joe Biden, Boris Johnson call for further Covid-19 origins investigation in China
- The two leaders want ‘timely, transparent and evidence-based independent process for the next phase of the WHO-convened Covid-19 origins study’
- Their joint statement follows an EU call for ‘complete access’ from China for a full investigation
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The leaders of the United States and Britain vowed to support an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19, “including in China”, in a meeting on the eve of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Cornwall.
A joint statement from US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson added to earlier comments from European Union leaders urging China to permit inspectors “complete access” to all relevant sites and information related to the pandemic.
“We will also support a timely, transparent and evidence-based independent process for the next phase of the WHO-convened Covid-19 origins study, including in China, and for investigating outbreaks of unknown origin in the future,” said the statement, issued on Thursday.
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The readout referred to China only once by name, but hinted at the rivalry with Beijing throughout, vowing to advance “the values of liberal democracies, open societies and open markets” and to “defend media freedom [and] advance a free and open internet”.
01:56
WHO ends Covid-19 mission in Wuhan, says lab leak ‘extremely unlikely’
WHO ends Covid-19 mission in Wuhan, says lab leak ‘extremely unlikely’
Earlier in the day, EU leaders used similar language in urging China to assist with an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. The calls add to growing demands for a further investigation into the theory that the virus emerged in late 2019 from a lab in Wuhan in central China, where the pathogen was first detected – demands that China has firmly rejected.
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