WASHINGTON/BEIJING - China must be more honest about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US ambassador to China said on Monday (Feb 27), after reports that the US Energy Department concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak. Nicholas Burns, speaking by video link at a US Chamber of Commerce event, said it was necessary to push...
US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns attends the World Peace Forum at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, on July 4, 2022.WASHINGTON/BEIJING - China must be more honest about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US ambassador to China said on Monday , after reports that the US Energy Department concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that the US Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Sunday there were a "variety of views in the intelligence community" on the pandemic's origins.Asked to comment on the report, which was confirmed by other US media, China's foreign ministry referred to a WHO-China report that pointed toward a natural origin for the pandemic, likely from bats, rather than a lab leak.
"It's a little bit Orwellian. And it's a little bit frustrating, because I think everybody knows the truth here."
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