China has rejected the criticism of the World Health Organization (WHO), which claims that the country has not provided enough data and information on Covid-19.
“Since the outbreak of Covid-19 five years ago, China has provided the WHO and the international community with information on the outbreak and the virus genome as soon as possible” said a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. We have also shared our experiences in combating the virus and clinical treatment unconditionally with others.”
China is “following the spirit of science, openness, and transparency” in the search for the origins of Covid-19, actively supports and participates in the global, science-based search for the origins, and is “decisively against any form of political manipulation” the spokesperson said.
Regarding the tracing of the origin of Covid-19, China has “provided more data and research results and contributed more to the global Covid-19 origin study than any other country” the spokesperson added.
The WHO had previously stated that more data from China are still needed to understand the origins of Covid-19, calling it a “moral and scientific imperative.” Without transparency, exchange, and cooperation between countries, the world cannot adequately prepare for and respond to future epidemics and pandemics, the WHO said.
Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and rapidly spread globally. The exact origin is still unclear.