This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On May 8, 2020, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced that the country supports a World Health Organization-led review of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. However, this review would only take place after the pandemic is over.
According to Hua, the review should be conducted in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner under the leadership of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. She emphasized that the review should be conducted at an appropriate time after the pandemic is over.
China's stance on the review comes as the country faces increasing global pressure to allow an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic. The US and Australia have led calls for an international inquiry into the issue, which has become a key flashpoint in deteriorating tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Despite growing calls for an investigation into the origins of the virus, Hua did not specify that the review should probe the origins of the virus. Instead, she stated that the review should summarize the experience and deficiencies of the international response to the pandemic, strengthen the WHO's work, enhance the construction of countries' core public health capabilities, and provide suggestions to improve global preparedness against major infectious diseases.
China has rejected US calls for an investigation, accusing the US of politicizing the issue. Hua stressed that any inquiry should be based on the International Health Regulations and be authorized by the World Health Assembly or Executive Committee, the WHO's dual governing bodies.
WHO epidemiologist Dr. Maria van Kerkhove has stated that the agency is in talks with China to send a mission to investigate the animal source of the virus.
