China fuels debate on coronavirus origin, links US Army to outbreak

What began as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo terming coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" has now snowballed into a bone of contention between the United States and China. The two countries have been sparring over the origin of the deadly pandemic -- both trying to deflect the blame for the contagion.

Also, with the number of cases falling in China and soaring abroad, Beijing has also been trying to reframe itself as a country that took decisive steps to curb the outbreak -- one of the ways being buying the world time by placing huge swathes of its population under quarantine.

On Thursday, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, fuelled the spat by saying it might be "the US Army that brought" the virus to Wuhan. His tweet was, however, not substantiated by any evidence. He also posted a link to an article from a website known for publishing conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.

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Zhao Lijian accused the US of lacking transparency: "When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!"

1/2 CDC Director Robert Redfield admitted some Americans who seemingly died from influenza were tested positive for novel #coronavirus in the posthumous diagnosis, during the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3 — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020

2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation! pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3 — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020

Not only this, even Chinese social media users discussed similar claims about the US being behind the virus. A video -- featuring a US health official saying some flu victims were posthumously diagnosed as having had COVID-19 -- has gone viral on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

Zhao, believed to be tweeting in his official capacity, also posted the clip on Twitter.

Chinese authorities themselves had earlier seen Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province as a threat. But Zhong Nanshan, a respected expert affiliated with the National Health Commission, in February told reporters "the epidemic first appeared in China, but didn't necessarily originate in China."

This article is very much important to each and every one of us. Please read and retweet it. COVID-19: Further Evidence that the Virus Originated in the US. https://t.co/LPanIo40MR — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 13, 2020

THE SPAT

China's foreign ministry had earlier rejected Pompeo's assertion of 'Wuhan virus' and rejected the term as "despicable" and "disrespecting science".

Although the epidemic first broke out in China, it did not necessarily mean that the virus is originated from China, let alone "made in China". pic.twitter.com/EVXLkQnyfF — Chinese Ambassador to South Africa (@AmbLINSongtian) March 7, 2020

Despite this, US President Donald Trump spoke about the outbreak "that started in China" in a televised address to his nation.

Robert O'Brien, US national security advisor, had also insisted that the virus originated in Wuhan.

This was met with disagreement from world over -- with Australian National University researcher Yun Jiang calling Trump administration's emphasis on the virus' origin in China "part of his dog-whistling politics".

It seems that some US officials enjoy smearing China around the clock & around the world. What they say about Xinjiang is the LIE of the CENTURY. LYING and CHEATING won't make you nobler and greater. Why not come to Xinjiang and see with your own eyes? https://t.co/O3G1vNp2ju — Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 12, 2020

CDC director openly admitting that some #covid deaths have been misdiagnosed as influenza in the US. The question is when are those deaths. This supports the claims made by Japanese scientists that the virus originated from the US but was covered up.#COVID19 #Corona pic.twitter.com/AwdXAKz6Ao — Taro (@taro_taylor) March 12, 2020

Zhao said the journalists using the term "China virus" were "suggesting its origin without any supporting facts or evidence" and had "ulterior motives."

The World Health Organisation has, however, said that while the exact path the virus took between its animal source and humans is still unclear, COVID-19 was "unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019".

(with inputs from AFP)