U.S. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Friday called on China for "
cooperation
" and "
transparency
" about the origin of Covid-19, as Washington attempts to establish whether the coronavirus may have come from a Chinese laboratory accident.
Read also: Origin of the Covid: the track of the Chinese laboratory is becoming clearer
In a telephone conversation with his counterpart Yang Jiechi, he notably underlined "
the need
" for a deepening of the investigation by experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) in China on the origin of the virus, after criticism aimed at the first mission, according to a statement from the US State Department.
The President of the United States Joe Biden called at the end of May American intelligence, so far unable to decide between the thesis of an animal origin and that of a leak at the Chinese laboratory in Wuhan, to "
redouble their efforts
" to explain the origin of Covid-19, and provide a report within 90 days.
Tight relationships
Antony Blinken also called on Beijing "
to cease its pressure campaign against Taiwan
" and "to
resolve peacefully
" issues related to the island.
He referred to the “
concern
” of the United States about “
the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity
” targeting, according to the American government, Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
But also about "
the deterioration of democratic standards in Hong Kong
".
Read also: Covid-19: Does the WHO really have the means to investigate the origin of the virus?
It is the first exchange between the two men since their extremely tense meeting in March in Anchorage, Alaska, during which the two rival great powers had displayed their differences in front of cameras around the world, giving the impression of an impossible gap. And it comes as Antony Blinken is with US President Joe Biden in the UK for a G7 summit bringing together Washington's allied powers.
According to the American and Chinese accounts, the tone was once again one of confrontation. The US Secretary of State notably called once again for “
the immediate release
” of Western nationals who were victims of “
arbitrary detention
” in China. But the two men also spoke about issues in which their countries, according to Washington, have shared interests, such as North Korea and "
the need for the United States and the People's Republic of China to work together to denuclearize the world. Korean Peninsula
”, but also Iran, Burma and the climate crisis.
