Experts refute US intelligence community's COVID-19 origins tracing report

BEIJING -- Foreign experts have refuted the US intelligence community's report on the origins of COVID-19, saying an approach that isn't scienced-based and aimed at scapegoating China will undermine global efforts to end the pandemic.

The intelligence community's assessment on the origins of COVID-19 released on Friday does not rule out either natural exposure or a laboratory accident, and falsely claims that China "continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information and blame other countries."

However, the report created by the United States for its own political purposes has sparked a backlash by experts worldwide.

Nako Stefanov, CEO of Bulgarian Strategic Management Institute, called the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States "ironic."

Because tracing the origins of COVID-19 is a matter of science, "problems in the scientific field should still be investigated by experts in related fields" rather than the intelligence community, he noted.

According to Kenyan international relations expert Cavince Adhere, politicizing the origins of the virus is reminiscent of the unprogressive policies and government decisions under the former US administration -- playing down the severity of the virus, failing to provide adequate support for its healthcare systems and transferring blame to other countries.

The US obsession with politicizing the virus' origins instead of focusing on stemming the spread of the disease at home has made it the hardest-hit country in the world, Adhere noted.

"Politics does not have a constructive role to play in overcoming the human and economic toll that this virus has inflicted on different countries," he noted, stressing that "multilateralism" and "international cooperation" are the best way to prevail over the pandemic.

Fredrick Mutesa, general secretary of the Zambia-China Friendship Association, call its "extremely unfortunate" that US politicians insist on politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic by releasing a report without conclusive evidence. He voiced objection to attempts to put the presumption of guilt on China.

Mutesa also urged for "joint and transparent" investigations into the US military bio-lab Fort Detrick.

The US report runs counter to the spirit of the United Nations Charter by ignoring scientific conclusions and deliberately blaming China, said Ayman Salama, professor of international law at Egypt's Nasser Higher Military Academy.

In an article published in The Guyana Chronicle newspaper, former Guyanan President Donald Rabindranauth Ramotar said "all of this is occurring because of the phenomenal and social economic progress that China has made over the last four decades."

China's financial aid has given other developing countries more freedom and confidence, breaking the monopoly of the World Bank and other Western financial sources, Ramotar said.

"Instead of making COVID-19 an international political football to be kicked around in the mad haste to stymie the economic growth of the People's Republic of China, we should seek total cooperation to end this deadly disease," Ramotar said.