China, US spar over origin of coronavirus

BEIJING, (AFP) - A Chinese government campaign to cast doubt on the origin of the coronavirus pandemic is fuelling a row with the United States, with a Beijing official promoting conspiracy theories and Washington calling it the “Wuhan virus”.

The spat comes as China tries to deflect blame for the contagion and reframe itself as a country that took decisive steps to buy the world time by placing huge swathes of its population under quarantine.

With cases falling in China and soaring abroad, Beijing is now rejecting the widely held assessment that the city of Wuhan is the birthplace of the outbreak.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian went a step further on Thursday, saying on Twitter that “it might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan” -- without providing any evidence. He doubled down on his claim on Friday by posting a link to an article from a website known for publishing conspiracy theories.

Censors usually vigilant against rumours have also allowed Chinese social media users to spread similar claims about the US being behind the virus. A video showing a US health official saying some flu victims were posthumously diagnosed as having had COVID19 was among the top searched items on China's Twitter-like Weibo this week, with some users saying it was evidence the virus originated in the US.

China's intention in promoting the conspiracy theory is “to divert from domestic discontent” over the handling of the outbreak, which has killed more than 3,100 people in the country.

Asked if Zhao was representing the government's view, fellow foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Friday that “the international community, including (people) in the United States, have different views on the source of the virus”.

“China from the beginning thinks this is a scientific issue, and that we need to listen to scientific and professional advice,” Geng said.