Biden criticises China for not aiding report on Covid-19 origin

WASHINGTON • US President Joe Biden has rebuked China for stonewalling an American investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, as his administration reported that it was unable to reach firm conclusions because of Beijing's unwillingness to cooperate.

China denied that it had hindered the probe.

"To this day, (China) continues to reject calls for transparency and withhold information, even as the toll of this pandemic continues to rise. The world deserves answers, and I will not rest until we get them," Mr Biden said in a statement on Friday, shortly after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an unclassified summary of the report.

"Responsible nations do not shirk these kinds of responsibilities to the rest of the world."

The intelligence community determined the virus was not created as a biological weapon and said Chinese officials had no "foreknowledge" of the outbreak, but was divided on how it came to infect humans and spread across the globe.

Four components of the intelligence community said - with low confidence - that the outbreak was likely linked to exposure to an infected animal, according to the US summary. This theory is the most widely supported by scientists, including Dr Anthony Fauci, who is advising Mr Biden on Covid-19.

One intelligence community component assessed with moderate confidence that the outbreak was associated with a research lab in China. As of a few months ago, two components backed the animal theory while one backed the lab theory.

The Chinese Embassy in the US has expressed "strong condemnation" of the White House statement, and again called for an investigation into the US biological defence site Fort Detrick. The US report does not produce the answer the US wants and "continuing such an effort will also be in vain, because its subject is simply non-existent and anti-science", it said in a statement.

"The report by the US intelligence community shows that the US is bent on going down the wrong path of political manipulation," the statement said. "The report is based on presumption of guilt on the part of China, and it is only for scapegoating China."

Analysts at other US agencies are unable to coalesce around either origin theory without more information, including some who think both are equally likely. To reach a conclusion with higher confidence, the intelligence community said it would need more cooperation from China, which it said continues to hinder global efforts.

Beijing "continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information and blame other countries, including the United States", the summary said. "These actions reflect, in part, China's government's own uncertainty about where an investigation could lead as well as its frustration that the international community is using the issue to exert political pressure on China."

The intelligence community overall believes the virus infected humans through an initial small exposure no later than November of 2019, according to the report. The report said the intelligence agencies judge that the virus was not developed as a biological weapon, and most assess - with low confidence - that it was not genetically engineered, though two agencies believe there is not enough evidence to know either way.

"China's officials did not have foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of Covid-19 emerged," the summary said.

But the intelligence agencies and the global community lack clinical samples and other data from the earliest Covid-19 cases, the summary said. The report also showed how far the government is from reaching a conclusion. Only five of the agencies, or components, of the intelligence community expressed any view and none did so with more than low or moderate confidence.

The US intelligence community is made up of 18 different organisations, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which released the summary, and the Central Intelligence Agency, among others.

The intelligence community sprinted to provide the report within Mr Biden's timeline, and approached it from multiple perspectives, including consulting scientists and epidemiologists, an official familiar with the process said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The intelligence community also reached out to academic experts, as well as international allies and partners, the official said.

BLOOMBERG