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Dates, plans of WHO coronavirus mission 'still in negotiations', says China

Dates, plans of WHO coronavirus mission 'still in negotiations', says China

The coronavirus first emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. (Photo: AFP/Hector RETAMAL)

BEIJING: China said Wednesday (Jan 6) it was still negotiating with the World Health Organization the dates and itinerary for a visit by international experts looking into origins of COVID-19, after the head of the agency criticised Beijing for not finalising permissions for the mission.

China’s position on the hunt for the origins of the pandemic “has always been open and responsible”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

She said that China has a close cooperation with WHO. However, the dates and itinerary need to be finalised, she said.

“The origins problem is very complex. To ensure that the work of the global experts group in China is successful, we need to carry out the necessary procedures and relevant concrete plans. Currently both sides are still in negotiations on this,” Hua said. 

“I understand that it’s not just a visa problem and the actual date and itinerary. Both sides are still in close communication.”

READ: WHO's Tedros 'very disappointed' China hasn't granted entry to COVID-19 experts

China’s disease experts are currently busy with multiple small-scale clusters and outbreaks reported in the past couple of weeks, she added.

“Our experts are wholeheartedly in the stressful battle to control the epidemic,” she said.

An international team of experts had been due to visit the central city of Wuhan in January, where the pandemic first appeared a year ago.

READ: WHO experts to wade into tricky territory in hunt for COVID-19's origins

READ: 'We are not afraid' - Wuhan residents say they hope WHO team finds COVID-19 origins

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that members of the international scientific team began departing from their home countries over the last 24 hours as part of an arrangement between WHO and the Chinese government.

“Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalized the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China,” Tedros said during a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

“I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute, but had been in contact with senior Chinese officials,” he said.

The Chinese government has been strictly controlling all research at home into the origins of the virus, an AP investigation found, and state-owned media have played up reports that suggest the virus could have originated elsewhere.

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Source: AP/ga

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