Prognosis
U.S. Presses China on New Covid-19 Study as Beijing Resists
- Yang urges U.S. to tread carefully on Taiwan, coronavirus
- Call with Blinken reported by Chinese state broadcaster
Yang Jiechi
Photographer: Alex Kraus/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed his Chinese counterpart in a phone call Friday to allow a new expert-led study into the origins of Covid-19, but China’s top diplomat called theories that the virus leaked from a Wuhan lab an absurd story, according to readouts from both sides.
In the call with Politburo member Yang Jiechi, Blinken “stressed the importance of cooperation and transparency regarding the origin of the virus, including the need for WHO Phase 2 expert-led studies in China,” the State Department said in a statement. Yang said China supports cooperation but won’t tolerate what he said were attempts to smear China, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.