The Blog

2021-

2021-01-15 a
MADE IN CHINA?

US report into Covid origins expected to say Chinese army grew 'dangerous coronaviruses' in Wuhan

Donald Trump may release classified intelligence in salvo against Beijing as one of his final acts as president

British diplomats are bracing for the United States to make grave allegations against China, linked to "dangerous" coronavirus research in Wuhan.

Donald Trump is thought to be intent on firing a final salvo against Beijing over the Covid crisis in one of his last acts before he departs the Oval Office next week.

UK sources believe Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, could make a public intervention as soon as Wednesday involving the declassification of American intelligence on the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The US may allege that the People's Liberation Army was running research projects that involved "cultivating dangerous coronaviruses" in a series of animal species at the laboratory, a UK source told The Telegraph.

Such claims would prompt a raft of further questions about why the Chinese military would be involved in this kind of project, including any links to the development of potential bioweapons.

Washington is expected to stop short of alleging that Covid-19 first originated from the biological laboratory, however.

Speculation that an announcement could be imminent was fuelled by a statement from Robert O'Brien, Mr Trump's national security adviser, on Monday.

"The world cannot continue to pay heavy prices for its naivety and complicity in Beijing's irresponsible and harmful practices, whether it is ending the rule of law in Hong Kong or not cooperating with health officials on the pandemic," he said. "The United States is examining further options to respond."

The Sun quoted a diplomatic source saying: "The US have stopped short of this so far – but anything could happen in the coming days, and the origin of the virus is top of their list."

... The Wuhan Institute of Virology is a government research facility under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which itself is under the purview of China’s cabinet, the State Council.

Scientific research in China is often linked to the military, which operates its own set of internal institutions that conduct some of the country's most advanced work.

... The foreign ministry in Beijing has continually denied any link between research conducted at the lab, including coronaviruses, and the Covid-19 outbreak. "The fact is as plain as day that there is no evidence supporting the claim that the novel coronavirus came from a lab," a spokesman said in August.

Last week, Beijing reiterated its stance. "Chinese media have published a series of reality checks on Covid-19, debunking the false allegations with solid figures and facts," a spokesman said. (read more)

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