China Agrees For Probe Into Virus Origin, WHO Response

China had previously opposed calls for probes from Washington and Canberra

NEW DELHI: China on Monday gave in to mounting international pressure for a probe into the origin of COVID19 and a review of the World Health Organisation’s response to the pandemic.

President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly that China had acted with ‘openness, transparency and responsibility’ when the disease, which has impacted billions of people across the world, first broke out.

President Xi, who had been invited to speak at the opening ceremony after the European Union-drafted resolution to push for a probe was supported by more than a 100 countries, said Beijing supported calls for a comprehensive review of the global response but felt this exercise should be carried out after the world gets a grip on the situation. The world’s immediate priority should be saving people.

“China supports the idea of a comprehensive review of the global response to COVID-19 after it is brought under control to sum up experience and address deficiencies,” President Xi told the assembly, the UN global health body’s policy-making body.