China’s ambassador to Britain DENIES Covid cover-up and insists he’s fine with the WHO probing his country’s labs and wet markets – but says now is not the ‘appropriate’ time to do so
- Liu Xiaoming insisted China is open to a probe of its wet markets and labs
- Said the World Health Organisation is welcome to investigate over Covid-19
- But when asked if the WHO could begin, he said it wasn’t the appropriate time
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China’s ambassador to Britain has denied the country covered up coronavirus and insisted that it is open to the World Health Organisation.
Liu Xiaoming last night claimed that the Communist government has no problem with a probe of its wet markets and laboratories to see if Covid-19 originated in Wuhan.
As he denied that the country had covered up the outbreak, he also said that right now isn’t the right time to investigate China.
Interviewer Mark Austin asked the ambassador if his country had hidden the outbreak form the international community, with Xiaoming insisting that even fierce critic Donald Trump had spoken of co-operation between their nations during the pandemic.
Insisting that no cover-up had taken place, he was then asked on Sky News why China wasn’t allowing an investigation.
The ambassador replied: ‘I think this investigation should not be politically motivated. First of all, the top priority for the international community is to fight, is to focus on fighting this virus.
‘Secondly, we’re open, we’re transparent, we have nothing to fear. We welcome an international, independent review – but it has to be organised by WHO.’
Austin asked for confirmation that China was inviting the WHO to investigate now, to which Xiaoming said ‘at the appropriate time – but not now’.
The ambassador insisted he was fine with the investigation proceeding, but not at the moment
Throughout the interview, he insisted his country had come forward with information about the virus as soon as it had been possible.
Saying that China was the true victim in the pandemic, he denied that Beijing played a role in silencing scientists and skewing data.
And he said it wasn’t fair for politicians and pundits to say that the disease had originated in his country because it’s a question for scientists.
The denials come after the US President claimed he’d seen evidence that the coronavirus originated in a Wuhan lab.
Four days ago a bombshell report claimed President Xi Jinping personally asked World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom to ‘delay a global warning’ about the threat of COVID-19 during a conversation back in January.