Probe Covid origin: Australia’s investigation call, despite China’s pressure, should be supported

In clear act of muscle flexing by China, Beijing’s ambassador in Australia has suggested there could be economic costs to Canberra for calling for a probe into the origin and spread of the coronavirus. Australia last week had called for all members of the WHO to support the independent review and is presently lobbying world leaders. This has not gone down well with China which is Australia’s largest trading partner and one of its biggest export markets. The Chinese ambassador indicated that should Australia continue asking for the investigation, the Chinese public could boycott Australian wine, beef, tourist destinations and universities.

This is outright economic bullying. A fair, independent probe into the origin of Covid-19 is indeed necessary to understand the virus and its molecular mechanisms, develop possible treatments and prevent such outbreaks in the future. But China in recent weeks has adopted the line that the first cases of Covid-19 may have been detected in Wuhan but that doesn’t mean the virus originated in Chinese territory. That may well be the case. But it can only be ascertained through an international, independent investigation. And if China truly has nothing to hide, it should have no problems cooperating with such a probe.

Besides, Beijing itself has called for international cooperation to fight Covid-19. And working together to investigate the origin of the virus can certainly strengthen global cooperation in healthcare. But if China is going to throw its weight around and use its economic heft to block such a probe, then its image will take a further beating and distrust will grow. This distrust is precisely the reason many countries are looking to decouple from China and move their production bases out of that country. What Australia is asking for is important for global health and medical research. The international community, including New Delhi, must support Canberra and not allow Beijing to stonewall investigations into the worst pandemic in our lifetime.