WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Beijing about the inadequate treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, calling its lack of transparency after learning of the virus’s first cases a “profound problem”.
In response to a question on NBC News’ “Today,” Blinken accused China of failing to comply with its international obligations to provide information on the origins of the outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019, which China’s Communist government is accused of covering up.
“There is no doubt that, especially when COVID-19 was launched for the first time, but even today, China falls far short of the goal 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, this lack of openness is a profound problem,” he continued.
The comments are the latest blow between China and the Biden government, which critics have accused of being mild to Beijing after the hard line adopted by the Trump administration.
During Senate confirmation hearings, Blinken supported predecessor Mike Pompeo’s statement that the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims amounted to “genocide”.
China’s Foreign Ministry rebuked Blinken in a statement last week, accusing him of “interfering in his internal affairs and undermining his interests”.
In his “Today” interview, Blinken also rebuked the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his crackdown on protesters protesting the recent arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The head of the State Department said he was “deeply disturbed by the violent repression” and revealed that the United States is looking at possible reactions to the Kremlin’s mass arrest of protesters.
“The Russian government makes a big mistake if it believes it is about us,” Blinken said after Moscow warned Washington against imposing new sanctions.
“It’s about them. It’s about the government. It is about the frustration that the Russian people feel with corruption, with autocracy, and I think they need to look inside, not outside, ”he said.
In a call with Putin last week, Biden scolded his “evil actions” and asked him to release Navalny, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
“The president could not have been more clear in his conversation with President Putin,” said Blinken.