China says US is 'COVID-19 ground zero' in fiery document
What's the story
China has released a government white paper blaming the United States for being the original source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The document published on April 30 by the State Council Information Office refutes Donald Trump's presidential campaign's theory that the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The Chinese government claims it is America, instead, that owes the world an explanation.
Accusations
China accuses US of diverting attention from its COVID-19 response
The white paper slammed the US government for failing to recognize its own shortcomings in dealing with COVID-19. It accuses America of trying to shift blame and divert attention from its failures by politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins. "The US government...has tried to shift the blame and divert people's attention by shamelessly politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing," the document read, as reported by The Express.
Investigation request
China calls for investigation into pandemic's origins
The white paper calls for a "thorough and in-depth investigation" into the origins of the pandemic, alleging substantial evidence that SARS-CoV-2 originated in the US much earlier than the outbreak in China. "The US should not continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb," it says, while insisting that a joint study by the WHO and China had concluded that a lab leak was "extremely unlikely."
Evidence cited
Chinese white paper cites US studies as evidence
Among the evidences cited in the white paper is a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which detected COVID-19 antibodies in 106 of 7,389 blood samples from nine states during December 2019-January 2020. The document also cites an analysis by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that showed the presence of antibodies across all 50 states by March 2020.
White House
White House revamped its COVID-19 information
The Chinese accusations came after the White House revamped its COVID-19 website, supporting the theory that COVID-19 was a human-made virus that leaked from an infectious disease lab in Wuhan. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had earlier concluded a lab leak was likely but with "low confidence," similar to conclusions from the Energy and State departments. The WHO also said it is open to all theories of the virus's origin, including animal-to-human transmission at a Wuhan market.