China strongly opposes the so-called international investigation based on the presumption of guilt over the origin of the COVID-19 virus, said Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng.
“We oppose the politically motivated investigation to stigmatize China,” said Le Yucheng in an interview with NBC.
“We are frank and open. We support scientists in conducting research exchanges, as well as in generalizing experience and learning from it. However, we are opposed to unfounded accusations against China,” the deputy minister added.
He added that China should not be prejudiced at first, and then supposedly conduct international investigations, the purpose of which is only to collect the so-called evidence.
The diplomat also said that the most thorough verification of data on patients with COVID-19 will show that China’s actions can withstand the investigation and “there is no need to hide anything.”
“Behind these numbers are real people. Hide something here does not work. On the contrary, the fact that some countries called COVID-19 the usual flu is a real cover-up, ”said the representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
As Le Yucheng stressed, “China is a victim, not an accomplice of COVID-19.” He called the PRC responsible for distributing COVID-19, or even demanding reparations from him, as “an absurd political farce ” that had no legal basis.
“There are no rules of international law that support the persecution of a country simply because it was the first to report an outbreak. History does not know such cases, ”the deputy foreign minister of the PRC added.
“The demand from China to compensate for the damage is nothing more than shifting responsibility for its powerlessness in the fight against the epidemic to China. Such a trick with shifting the blame will not find a response in the hearts of people and will fail, ”said Le Yucheng.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang commented on a statement by US President Donald Trump about his intention to “punish” the PRC for the emergence and spread of coronavirus.
“With regard to the issue of responsibility, we have repeatedly said that the virus is the common enemy of all mankind. China is also the affected party, not an “accomplice” of the virus, ”the diplomat said.
