The State Council Information Office releases a white paper on China's actions and stance on COVID-19 prevention and control and virus origin tracing.

The Information Office of the State Council released the White Paper "China's Actions and Position on COVID-19 Prevention and Control and Virus Origin Tracing" on the 30th. Apart from the preface and conclusion, the White Paper is divided into three parts: contributing Chinese wisdom to COVID-19 virus tracing, contributing Chinese strength to global anti-epidemic efforts, and highlighting the misconduct of the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The White Paper introduces that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has continuously invested a large amount of resources to support Chinese scientists and international peers in conducting research on the origin tracing of the virus. China has always fulfilled its international responsibilities with an open and transparent attitude and a spirit of scientific professionalism. China has taken the lead in carrying out key research in clinical epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, and animal host tracing in the origin tracing research, always cooperating fully with transparency and a sense of responsibility to support the WHO's joint origin tracing research on the COVID-19 virus. The White Paper states that studies such as the "SARS-CoV-2 Global Origin Tracing Research: the China part - the WHO-China Joint Study Report" have systematically carried out epidemiological, molecular tracing, animal host investigation, and cold chain input research, ruling out the possibility of Wuhan as the natural origin of the COVID-19 virus. The White Paper emphasizes that China has always upheld the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, actively engaging in international cooperation in epidemic prevention, sharing pandemic information and virus genetic sequences with the WHO and the international community in a timely manner, inviting international expert teams from the WHO to China multiple times to collaborate on the origin tracing of the COVID-19 virus. China has fully shared its prevention, control, and treatment experiences, provided abundant material assistance and technical support to the international community, and done everything it can to support global anti-epidemic efforts. The White Paper points out that the United States, due to its inadequate response to the epidemic, not only fails to reflect and awaken but also shifts blame, politicizes the origin tracing of the COVID-19 virus, severely undermining international efforts to respond to the global pandemic, and obstructing global public health governance. There is significant evidence suggesting that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States occurred earlier than the official announcement and before the outbreak in China, warranting a comprehensive and in-depth origin tracing investigation in the U.S. The U.S. should promptly respond to the reasonable concerns of the international community and provide a responsible explanation to the world. The White Paper emphasizes that infectious diseases are a common enemy of humanity, and any politicization or fabrication of false information to attack other countries for self-interest will ultimately harm the health and well-being of all humanity, including its own people. China will continue to work hand in hand with other countries to promote global public health development and governance, and make even greater efforts and contributions to prevent future potential emerging infectious diseases.