On the eve of the G7 summit, US President Biden and British Prime Minister Johnson met on Thursday (June 10). The two countries emphasized in a joint statement after the meeting that they support independent investigations into the origin of the new coronavirus “including China.”
Johnson and Biden met in Cornwall, England. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two.
After the meeting, the two governments issued a joint statement stating that the United Kingdom and the United States support the next phase of the study on the origin of the new coronavirus, which will be convened by the World Health Organization. There will be a “timely, transparent, and evidence-oriented independent process, including in China, and in future investigations of unknown origin.” Epidemic.”
The full text of the joint statement only mentions China here, but there are many hints that Britain and the United States will unite with other democracies to counter China.
The first part of the statement focused on democracy, human rights and multilateralism, emphasizing that the two countries “support an open society and democracy around the world.”
The opening of the G7 Group of Seven Summit is about to begin, Johnson Biden takes the lead in meeting to discuss “common values”
On the same day, the European Union also made a similar statement supporting the investigation of the origin of the virus.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference that it is necessary to understand the origin of the new crown epidemic. “Investigators need to have sufficient authority and be able to enter any necessary place in order to truly find the origin of this epidemic.”
The leaders of the European Union and the United Kingdom and the United States respectively made the above statements on the eve of the G7 summit. It can be seen that the investigation of China and the origin of the epidemic will be an important part of the agenda. The G7 summit will be held in Cornwall, England this Friday. This is the first time that international political leaders have gathered after the outbreak.
This trip is also Bibb’s first foreign visit since he took power. The outside world generally interpreted that he hoped to convey a main message at the summit: “The United States is back on the international stage.”
Investigation of the origin of the epidemic on the cusp of the storm
The theory of the origin of the “Wuhan laboratory leak” has recently made waves. Biden ordered US intelligence agencies to thoroughly investigate the origin of the new coronavirus and submit a report within 90 days. But in investigating this speculation, the United States has not received clear support from its allies.
On February 3, the WHO New Crown Traceability Team visited Wuhan Institute of Virology.
On the eve of the G7 summit, BBC North America editor-in-chief Jon Sopel (Jon Sopel) interviewed White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and asked whether the United States lacked support in the “Laboratory Origins” investigation.
“I don’t think we are acting alone,” Sullivan said. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia all expressed support for “reliable and independent international investigations” to “find the roots” of the origin of the virus.
Sullivan also denied that the United States is behind Russia and China in “vaccine diplomacy.” He said that when the global epidemic ends, the world will witness that “the United States and Western democracies will be the main forces to end the epidemic” and that the United States will provide high-quality vaccines to the world. , Not for the benefit of geopolitics.
“We will prove with actions that the United States today can take effective actions to solve problems that affect the world,” Sullivan told the BBC.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference earlier on June 10 that the leak of the virus from the Wuhan laboratory was purely a rumor. He also compared the “hype laboratory leaking origin theory” of American politicians and media with the previous record of the United States claiming that “Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction” before it launched the Iraq war.
“Politicizing the traceability serves the self-interest of the United States,” Wang Wenbin said.