China News Service, August 28. According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 27, 2020 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with reporters in Oslo and Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Thured. There is no factual basis for imposing the blame on China.
A reporter asked that the new crown pneumonia epidemic originated in China, but China did not share the news in time, causing the epidemic to spread to other countries. What's your comment?
Wang Yi said, what you said is not true. China was the first country to notify the epidemic, but this does not mean that the epidemic originated in China. A lot of information and surveys have shown that the whereabouts of the virus have been discovered in many countries around the world, and many of them were discovered earlier than China. So where the epidemic originated and who is "patient zero" is a scientific question that requires scientists and medical experts to reach a conclusion after scientific research. No one has the right to politicize the traceability, let alone label the virus.
Wang Yi pointed out that, in the face of the unknown new coronavirus, China immediately launched an epidemiological investigation from the discovery of unknown pneumonia, identified the pathogen as soon as possible, and shared the virus gene sequence with the world and other countries as soon as possible. After determining the human-to-human transmission of the virus, China also made a decisive decision to close the Lihan Channel at the first time. Wuhan is a city with a population of 10 million. This is not an easy decision, but we still made this choice based on the principle of the supremacy of people's lives and health. At the same time, China launched a comprehensive first-level response in all provinces and municipalities across the country, quickly cutting off the chain of virus transmission, and finally effectively defeating the epidemic. A delegation of experts from the World Health Organization visiting China agreed that the measures taken by China were very timely and very effective. They not only prevented the spread of the epidemic in China, but also bought time for the world. This is the most basic fact.
Wang Yi said that the United States has no factual basis for trying to shift responsibility for its ineffective response to the epidemic to China. On January 23, when China closed the Lihan Channel and implemented a nationwide first-level response and comprehensive prevention based on Category A infectious diseases, there were only 9 confirmed cases in countries and regions outside of China, and only one in the United States. On January 31, the United States suspended direct flights between China and the United States. On February 2, the United States closed the border to all Chinese citizens. At that time, the United States announced only more than 10 confirmed cases. The timeline is clear. After China cut off the spread of the epidemic to the world, why the epidemic in some countries has spread significantly? This is a question worthy of serious consideration and in-depth investigation. I believe that as time goes by, the truth of the matter will become clearer and clearer.