Advertisement
Coronavirus barbs help nobody, China’s Washington ambassador says after ‘US army’ tweets
- Cui Tiankai says in TV interview that spreading theories about the virus is harmful, in tone contrasting with that of several colleagues
- Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has continued to suggest the virus may have been brought to his country by the US military
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
China’s ambassador in the United States has denounced speculation on the origin of the coronavirus after his fellow diplomats openly promoted dubious information about the pandemic.
Advertisement
Ambassador Cui Tiankai said speculating about the origin of the virus was “harmful” during an interview on US television programme Axios on HBO, filmed last Tuesday and broadcast on Sunday. He distanced himself from claims made by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian that the virus may have originated in the US.
“Eventually, we must have an answer to where the virus originally came [from],” Cui said. “But this is a job for the scientists to do, not for diplomats, not for journalists to speculate, because such speculation will help nobody.”
The comments represent an oblique rebuke of fellow Chinese diplomats who spread unproven claims that the US may have been responsible for starting the global pandemic.
Cui made the comment after Zhao, the most active tweeter in the Chinese government, triggered an uproar by saying on Twitter that the US military may have brought the coronavirus to China.
Advertisement
Advertisement