Peter Ben Embarek (C) and other members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team visit a local community in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province on February 4, 2021. Photo: VCG

 
After a number of prominent Chinese epidemiologists jointly called for similar field studies on the origins of the novel coronavirus in other countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it hoped that relevant parties, like what China has done, invite the WHO team to conduct studies locally, the spokesperson said on Friday.

The WHO team to China is part of global scientific cooperation on origins tracing, as more media reported COVID-19 occurred in the second half of 2019 in multiple places worldwide, reflecting the necessity and urgency for similar studies, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a routine press conference on Friday. 

“We hope that relevant parties, like what China has done, adopt a positive attitude in tracing the origins and invite WHO experts to conduct origins studies, contributing to their efforts on the global fight against the pandemic,” Wang said. 

While WHO experts in Wuhan have not yet finished their field studies in the city regarding the novel coronavirus’ origins, some top Chinese scientists jointly called on the WHO to launch similar field studies in other countries, especially in the US. They also called on the US to learn from China by inviting the team to carry out investigations as Wuhan is just the first stop of such scientific work in the world. 

Tracing the virus origins is a complex scientific question, involving multiple countries and places, which should be led by global scientists, the spokesperson said, noting that China has always been adhering to an open and transparent attitude, having close communication with the WHO on the work of tracing the origins. 

“Since the expert team finished collective quarantine on January 28, they have been conducting field studies with Chinese experts, and had several rounds of professional communication on the scientific questions of concern. The Chinese government also provided  huge support and assistance to this trip, of which the WHO experts have highly praised,” the Chinese official said. 

The prominent Chinese epidemiologists - including those close to the National Health Commission and the Chinese CDC, have come up with a consensus that as the work of tracing the origins requires continuous effort, the WHO is encouraged to discuss possible next stops for field work following the Wuhan trip, trying to solve the puzzle of this mysterious virus with the help of more data and information from more countries and regions.

After the trip to Wuhan, the WHO should also conduct virus origins-tracing work in other countries, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC), told the Global Times, which was also echoed by other experts who believe that the US has the most diverse virus strains, which make it the most suitable place for conducting the study of the virus’ origins.