China demands proof from US senator

BEIJING: China on Monday challenged a US senator to furnish evidence supporting his allegation that Beijing is actively trying to sabotage the efforts of western countries to develop a vaccine for Covid-19.

Republican Senator Rick Scott told BBC television that he thinks China is actively working to disrupt the efforts of the US and other western countries to develop the vaccine.

“We have evidence that communist China is trying to sabotage us or slow it down. China does not want us and England and Europe to do it first. They have decided to be an adversary to Americans and I think to democracy around the world,” Scott said.

Scott said the information was provided by the US’s intelligence community but didn’t elaborate.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying’s response to Scott’s accusation was acerbic.

“Since this lawmaker said he has evidence that China is trying to sabotage western countries in their vaccine development, then please let him present the evidence. There’s no need to be shy,” Hua told journalists at the regular ministry briefing on Monday.

Hua added that the development of a Covid-19 vaccine is not a bilateral competition and Beijing

hopes Washington will mirror China’s pledge and offer any vaccine it develops to the world for free.

EXPERT: MANY NATIONS YET TO SEE COVID PEAK

Several countries including India haven’t yet seen the peak number of Covid-19 cases, a leading Chinese infectious disease expert has said, adding a warning that the second wave or a rebound of the outbreak could be stronger than the first.

Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai’s Huashan hospital’s infectious disease department, said in an interview to state media that India, Brazil and Russia, for example, haven’t seen the peak of the pandemic curve yet and don’t know when the cases will come down.

The increase in the number of cases is being aided by the easing of lockdown in many countries, he was quoted as saying in thepaper.cn.

Giving the example of the US, he said after production was resumed in the US, where the epidemic is most severe, the outbreak in many states has shown signs of a rebound or a surge in the number of cases.

The outbreak is also rebounding in West Asia including in Iran, Zhang added.

For China, it will be crucial to control the number of imported cases – or infected persons returning to China from abroad – to stop the rebound.