China stonewall on COVID led to ‘egregious’ outcome: sec’y

Secretary of State Antony Blinken blasted China’s government on Sunday for stonewalling the international community at the onset of the COVID pandemic.

“China knows that in the early stages of COVID, it didn’t do what it needed to do, which was to, in real time, give access to international experts, in real time, to share information, in real time, to provide real transparency,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

That led to “more egregious results” than otherwise would have been the case, he said.

Blinken added that the U.S. must get to the bottom of COVID’s origins, although he did not go into detail.

Last month, the World Health Organization said the virus most likely started with transmission to humans from bats through another animal, but many questions remain after experts spent a month hunting for clues in Wuhan.

Discussing regional security in Asia, Blinken issued warnings to both Beijing and Moscow.

“We have a serious commitment to Taiwan being able to defend itself. We have a serious commitment to peace and security in the western Pacific,” he said. “It would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change that status quo by force.”

Last week, the U.S. military warned that China was probably speeding up its timetable for taking over Taiwan.

Blinken stopped short of suggesting a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, to be held in Beijing. Some Western governments have said China’s treatment of its Uighur minority could merit such a move.

“We’re not focused on a ... boycott. What we are focused on is talking, consulting closely with our allies and partners, listening to them, listening to concerns,” the U.S. diplomat said. “But that’s premature.”

Taking aim at Russia, he said: “I have real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine.

“There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded,” he said.

“If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences,” he said.