WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken has informed Beijing of the poor handling of the 19-month COVID pandemic, calling it lacking in transparency after learning of the first cases of the virus a “deep problem.”
In response to a question from NBC News’ “Today”, Blinken accused China of failing to comply with international obligations to provide information on the origins of the Wuhan outbreak in late 2019, which the Chinese communist government accuses it of covering.
“There is no doubt that especially when COVID-19 first hit, but even today, China is far from scoring when it comes to providing the necessary information to the international community, ensuring that experts have access to China.” , said Blinken.
“All this lack of transparency, the lack of future, is a profound problem,” he continued.
The remarks are the latest rescue between China and the Biden administration, which critics have accused of being weak on Beijing after the Trump administration’s hard line.
During his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Blinken supported the statement of his predecessor Mike Pompeo that the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims was “genocide.”
China’s foreign ministry rebuked Blinken in a statement last week, accusing him of “interfering in its internal affairs and undermining his interests.”
In his “Today” interview, Blinken also rebuked the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for repressing protesters protesting against the recent arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The head of the State Department said he was “deeply disturbed by the violent crackdown” and said the United States was examining possible reactions to the mass arrest of Kremlin protesters.
“The Russian government is making a big mistake if it thinks it’s about us,” Blinken said after Moscow warned Washington against imposing new sanctions.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s about the government. It is about the frustration that the Russian people have with corruption, with autocracy and I think they have to look inside, not outside “, he said.
In a call with Putin last week, Biden rebuked “his malicious actions” and demanded the release of Navalny, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said.
“The president could not have been clearer in his conversation with President Putin,” Blinken said.