Key Takeaways:
- US President Joe Biden has tabled a law calling for the declassification of confidential data on the origins of the Covid-19
- Several experts have blamed a lab leak in Wuhan for the spread of the pandemic
- China has slammed the new law, calling it a "political manipulation".
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — In what has caused yet another diplomatic spat between China and the United States, US President Joe Biden has ordered the release of intelligence reports on the origins of the Covid 19 virus. According to the White House, the Biden Administration has sought to declassify the information that could potentially reveal that Beijing had a hand in the spread of the virus. China’s foreign ministry has already rubbished the report, calling it a “political manipulation”.
Ever since the virus broke in late 2019, a heated debate has ensued about its origins. The generally-held view is that the virus spread from animals to humans through the sale of meat in the market. However, many have also claimed that the pandemic was the result of a lab leak from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Beijing has long rubbished the lab leak theory. In 2021, the Biden Administration has asked the US intelligence agencies to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
Earlier this month, Christopher Wray, the FBI Director said that the bureau believes Covid-19 most likely originated in a Chinese government-controlled lab.
“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident,”
he told Fox News.
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President Joe Biden finds unanimous support
The bill on the origins of Covid-19 received unanimous support in the US Congress. In a rare event in US politics, it sailed through both the Senate as well as the Republican majority House of Representatives without opposition.
Announcing his decision to direct the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify intelligence related to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, Biden said,
“In implementing this legislation, my administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible… I share the Congress’s goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin.”
China rubbishes Biden Administration’s Covid bill
Reacting to Washington’s intentions on the origin of the Covid 19 pandemic, China slammed the Biden Administration. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry alleged that the late bill misrepresented the facts on the ground.
“China calls on the US to immediately stop political manipulation,”
spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.
Days earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) slammed Beijing for hiding data linking Covid-19 to illegally traded raccoon dogs.
With the Sino-US relations already tense, the Biden Administration’s move could kickstart a fresh strife between the two superpowers.
