China will not let any country investigate the source of the coronavirus outbreak until it can declare a “final victory” against the disease, according to a Chinese ambassador.
Chen Xu, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, said addressing the pandemic is Beijing's first priority and an outside probe will have to wait.
The comments were made during an online news briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.
According to Agence France Presse, Xu said the second priority was countering the politicization of the outbreak from the U.S. He called the U.S. criticisms of China’s response to the outbreak “absurd and ridiculous.”
"Some of the American politicians, the mindset is a constant problem," Xu said. "They adopted an approach that is against anything from China. We need to focus firstly to save lives, secondly to stop the political virus."
There are conflicting reports from U.S. officials on the origin of the coronavirus. Some officials say it was leaked from a lab while others say it was naturally occurring.
The World Health Organization has said that China denied repeated requests to enter the country to launch an investigation into the origins of the virus.
Asked when the WHO could receive permission to take a deeper dive, Xu said "the top priority, for the time being, is to focus on the fight against the pandemic until we win the final victory.”
"For whether or how the invitation will take place, we need to have the right priority setting at this moment, and on the other hand, we need the right atmosphere," he said, adding China is not "allergic to any kind of investigations, inquiries or evaluations.”
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