More Nations Back Virus Probe, Too Early Says China

The foreign ministry said on Monday it was premature to immediately launch an investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 300,000 people globally.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that the vast majority of countries in the world believe the pandemic is not yet over.

The ministry said in a separate statement that President Xi Jinping will give a video speech for the opening ceremony of the World Health Assembly later on Monday.

This comes as a draft resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for an independent review got support from 116 nations, almost enough for it to pass, a document showed.

The resolution on Covid-19 will be put forward on Tuesday if it gains backing from two-thirds of the 194 members of the assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organisation.

China had strongly opposed Australia's call last month for an international investigation into the pandemic.

Names on a draft resolution showed support from 116 members was locked in, although Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said negotiations were ongoing and she did not want to pre-empt the outcome.

The resolution was "an important part of the conversation we started, and I am very grateful to the efforts of those in the European Union and those many drafters who have been part of the negotiations for the past few weeks”, she told reporters.

The resolution was comprehensive and included a call for "an examination of the zoonotic origins of the coronavirus", she added.

Australia - which has reported only 99 deaths from the novel coronavirus - says it wants to prevent a repeat of the pandemic that has paralysed economic activity around the world, and is not looking to cast blame.

"I hope that China will participate," Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Monday as he welcomed building support for an inquiry.

Among the co-sponsors of the resolution are India, Japan, South Korea, the African group of 47 member nations, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Britain and Canada. (Reuters)