NZ backs call for outbreak inquiry

New Zealand has joined Australia and 60 other nations in a call for an independent inquiry into the outbreak of Covid-19 and its handling by authorities.

An earlier version of this push, championed by Australia, enraged China, which described it as a ‘‘witch hunt’’ and is now not returning the calls of Australia’s trade minister.

But this latest version does not mention China by name and is backed by a wider group of nations including the European Union.

The Chinese city of Wuhan was the location of the first-known outbreak of Covid-19. Experts suspect the virus jumped from animals to humans at a wet market.

The Australian first reported on New Zealand’s inclusion on the list. It was later confirmed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on The AM Show yesterday morning.

‘‘We are part of a sensible call ... to learn what we can from Covid-19,’’ Ardern said.

‘‘We’re not interested in blame, we’re not interested in any kind of witch hunt. We’re just interested in learning.’’

Asked directly about the exclusion of China from the call’s text, Ardern said she was ‘‘not involved in the drafting.’’

The call comes ahead of a meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva yesterday, the decisionmaking body behind the World Health Organisation (WHO). It says the WHO should work with the World Organisation for Animal Health to ‘‘identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts’’.

The call comes as tensions between Australia and China have mounted into a possible trade war or boycott.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, told a newspaper that the push for the inquiry could lead some Chinese consumers to choose food from another country or somewhere else as a holiday or study destination.

‘‘The tourists may have second thoughts. Maybe the parents of the students would also think whether this place, which they find is not so friendly, even hostile, is the best place to send their kids to.

‘‘So it’s up to the public, the people to decide. And also, maybe the ordinary people will think why they should drink Australian wine or eat Australian beef?’’

China views Australia as an ally to the United States, which has been more explicit in blaming China for the outbreak.

The Trump Administration has repeatedly suggested that the virus may have originated in a lab in Wuhan, although most scientists agree it was not in any way manmade.