U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on Monday that Beijing must "be more honest" about how COVID-19 originated, CNN reports.
Burns, speaking at an event for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that China must "be more honest about what happened three years ago in Wuhan with the origin of the COVID-19 crisis" in order to have a working relationship with the U.S.
Although Burns made the comment the day after news broke that the Department of Energy had determined with "low confidence" that the virus originated due to a lab leak, he was not referencing that specifically, according to CNN.
He noted that this is "a moment where we've got to manage these differences, hold China to account and build up our alliance system out here in the Indo-Pacific."
The ambassador also said that the recent suspected Chinese surveillance balloon and Beijing's position on the invasion of Ukraine are "two of the most important issues that we're dealing with right now."
On the balloon, Burns said that "we're now in this surreal moment, where the Chinese who I think you know, lost the debate over the balloon, globally lost influence and credibility around the world because of what they have done."
He added: "They're now blaming this on us. It's a little bit Orwellian. And it's a little bit frustrating because I think everybody knows the truth here."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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