WHO experts in China for COVID-19 research cooperation: FM spokesperson

People who finished quarantine wait for shuttle bus to retrieve their personal belongings at Xinfadi market in Fengtai District of Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Two WHO experts have arrived in China for cooperation on researching the origin of the COVID-19 virus, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Monday.

After consultation between the two sides, the Chinese government had agreed that the World Health Organization would send experts to Beijing to exchange ideas with Chinese counterparts on science-based cooperation in novel coronavirus origin-tracing, Hua told a press briefing.

The fundamental consensus between China and the WHO is, origin-tracing is a scientific issue which should be studied by scientists through international research and cooperation across the globe, Hua stressed.

It is also the view of the WHO that origin-tracing is an ongoing process probably concerning many countries and localities, and the WHO will conduct similar trips to other countries and regions in light of the actual need, she said.