By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
On April 30, China’s State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled “Covid-19 Prevention, Control and Origins Tracing: China’s Actions and Stance.”
The document provides a comprehensive account of China’s contributions to virus origins tracing and global cooperation in fighting COVID-19, supported by detailed data and scientific evidence.
It also demonstrates China’s consistent position as a responsible major country in advocating science-based origins tracing and international cooperation, and firmly opposes the erroneous practice of politicizing public health issues.
The COVID-19 pandemic stands as the fastest-spreading and most extensive global health crisis that humanity has faced in a century. Its containment requires the concerted efforts of all countries.
From the onset of the pandemic, the collective effort of the whole Chinese nation enabled China to emerge victorious from the crisis – a historic feat for a populous nation like China. While unrelenting in its domestic efforts to contain the virus, China has unreservedly shared its experience to facilitate global pandemic control, done all it could for international anti-epidemic cooperation, fulfilled its international responsibilities, and demonstrated its ethical commitment as a major country.
Tracing the origins of the virus is a serious scientific issue. China has always applied a science-based approach to the task of tracing the virus origins, actively engaging with the World Health Organization (WHO) in communication and cooperation.
At the invitation of China, the WHO sent two international expert missions to the country to carry out a joint study into the origins of the virus in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Their findings were compiled into a joint study report that was released globally. With its rigorous and scientifically sound conclusions, the report earned endorsements from both the international community and the scientific community.
China has actively participated in global virus origins-tracing efforts with the greatest sincerity. Through systematic epidemiological investigations, molecular tracing, animal host screening, and studies on cold-chain transmission, the possibility of Wuhan being the natural origin of SARS-CoV-2 was scientifically ruled out. These efforts have provided the global scientific community with critical empirical evidence and established a research paradigm for future studies.
To date, no findings have contradicted the conclusions of the “WHO-convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part – Joint WHO-China Study.”
The international community widely acknowledges that the Chinese side has fully, timely and effectively fulfilled the obligations prescribed by the International Health Regulations through prompt and extensive actions rarely seen anywhere in the world.
Addressing the global COVID-19 pandemic is a serious scientific issue that bears on the health and wellbeing of all humanity.
Numerous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 originated outside China. Research and analysis conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that prior to the outbreak in Wuhan, multiple regions in the U.S. recorded positive SARS-CoV-2 test results and other evidence of the virus. A thorough and in-depth investigation into the origins of the virus should be conducted in the U.S.
However, instead of addressing its own inadequate pandemic response, the U.S. government has deliberately suppressed and concealed its findings and evidence, making China the primary scapegoat for its own mismanaged COVID-19 response. This selective blindness and politicization of a scientific issue have seriously impeded efforts to trace the virus origins and undermined the global public health system.
Infectious diseases are the common enemy of humanity. The international community must jointly safeguard the right course of science-based origins tracing. To prevent new infectious diseases in the future, the U.S., as a major country, cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct. It must promptly respond to the legitimate concerns of the international community, proactively share with the WHO data on its early suspected cases, and provide a responsible account to the global public.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
