U.S.-China tensions hurting global coronavirus response: EU diplomat

Increasing tensions between the U.S. and China over the coronavirus is hurting global efforts to respond to the pandemic, the European Union ambassador to China warned on Thursday, according to Reuters.

“We are seeing high levels of tensions, strategic, economic, political, growing day after day. It is our opinion that these tensions are not conducive to the cooperative spirit we need today,” Nicolas Chapuis said in a briefing with reporters in China, according to Reuters.

U.S. and Chinese relations are tense, with President Trump and senior administration officials accusing Beijing of covering up the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and demanding international investigations into the start of the outbreak, which was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

China has rebuked such efforts, refused to participate in an investigation, and in turn, floated unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that the U.S. is responsible for the outbreak. Beijing has also threatened boycotts against Australia after it joined American calls for an independent investigation.

The European Union is seeking to position itself as an intermediary amid the tensions.

“I am convinced that the EU voice is today more than ever necessary. We are the core of multilateral solutions that need to be taken to mitigate the coronavirus crisis and prepare for economic recovery,” Chapuis said at the briefing.

The EU has also called for a “worldwide” examination into the origins and spread of the pandemic but has stopped short of demanding the investigation start with Beijing.

The 27-member nation bloc is circulating a draft resolution ahead of the May 18 World Health Assembly, the global health body of the United Nations, to gain consensus for an international and independent investigation into the origins and spread of COVID-19.