Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Coronavirus conspiracy theories: US and Chinese politicians rush in where experts fear to tread

Coronavirus conspiracy theories: US and Chinese politicians rush in where experts fear to tread

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who promoted online theories about the origins of Covid-19 is the latest high-profile figure to make unverified claims. Beijing angered by US politicians who have characterised it as a ‘Chinese virus’ and Senator Tom Cotton’s suggestion it came from a lab in Wuhan

While the world’s leading scientists do not know for sure the origin of the coronavirus behind the Covid-19 pandemic, some Chinese officials and US politicians appear to know better.

Medical experts around the world have been trying for months to confirm the origin of the virus that has infected nearly 130,000 people and claimed more than 5,000 lives.

But scientists have yet to track down “patient zero” of the outbreak or confirm conclusively that the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, linked to 27 of the 41 first reported cases, was the source of the virus.

A study published by the Hubei Centres for Disease Prevention and Control this week analysing its genomic sequences said the market may have promoted its spread, but the researchers could not determine whether it had originated from there or what intermediate hosts may have transmitted the virus to humans.



But while this remains an open question for scientists, that has not stopped politicians from weighing in with unverified theories.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian became the latest to promote a conspiracy with a series of tweets late on Thursday and early Friday suggesting that the virus may have been spread by the United States military.

Zhao promoted a Canadian conspiracy website making the claim and wrote: “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”

The claims were apparently linked to the US Army’s participation in the international Military World Games held in Wuhan in October, which featured teams from more than 100 countries.


While Zhao’s tweets quickly drew tens of thousands of responses from Chinese internet users, another Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, was equivocal when asked at a Friday press briefing if the statements reflected Beijing’s official stance.

“You wonder if Zhao’s opinions represent those of the Chinese government,” Geng said. “I think you first should ask if remarks by certain US senior officials that vilify China represent the official stance of the US government.”

There are many opinions about the origin of the virus in the international community, including in the US, but the Chinese side believes that this is a science question that requires professional and scientific opinions.”

Beijing has previously complained about the spread of “rumours and prejudice”, characterising them as a “political virus”.
State-backed media has focused its displeasure on US political figures such as the Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who has repeated a fringe theory that the coronavirus emerged from a biochemical lab in Wuhan.

Rumours that the coronavirus might have been engineered in a chemical laboratory as a bioweapon have already been dismissed by scientists, who pointed out that its genetic make-up did not support such a claim



Beijing has also aggressively pushed back against references to the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” deployed by figures such as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and has tried to shift the focus away from criticisms of its initial handling of the outbreak to promoting its role in providing help and expertise to other countries.

Analysts said the posts from Zhao, a prolific tweeter known for his incendiary online rhetoric, owed more to the tensions between Beijing and Washington rather than being a serious endorsement of the conspiracy theory.

On Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform, discussions of Zhao’s tweets racked up more than 170 million views, with many posters supporting a more hawkish stance against the US.

Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute in Australia, said Zhao’s suggestion that someone else may be to blame for the outbreak was one way for the Chinese Communist Party to reduce “pent-up public anger” about Beijing’s management of the crisis.

The news that the police had taken action against doctors who sought to warn colleagues about the outbreak in its early stages – including Li Wenliang, who later died from the disease – prompted widespread fury.



He also said the tweets reflected “how far into the abyss relations have fallen” between China and the US.

“There might be some people in the foreign ministry who are uncomfortable with Zhao’s tweets but they are consistent with the more aggressive posture that Chinese diplomats are adopting around the world on this and every other issue,” McGregor said.

“Zhao just happens to be a little nastier than the others and more willing to push the boundaries of diplomacy. But he increasingly represents mainstream Chinese diplomacy.”

Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said Zhao’s tweets were his “personal opinion” and would not carry much weight in comparison with comments made in official foreign ministry press conferences.

“Such an important issue like the origin of the virus shall be decided by scientists around the world,” he said. “Now too little is known and there are different opinions. Claims like this will only provide ammunition to China hawks in the US, but I think the priority of both countries now is to contain the virus and secure their economies.”

Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London, said Zhao’s remarks were trying to “wind up those that wind you up” but risked backfiring.

“It is indicative of the very defensive, often counterproductive and heavy-handed Chinese diplomacy more generally at the moment – high on strategic content, low on any real signs of emotional intelligence,” he said.

Lucrezia Poggetti, research associate at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, said Zhao’s theories could still sway people’s opinions.

“We shouldn’t underestimate China’s potential to influence narratives and opinions abroad,” she said. “China experts will be able to spot Chinese propaganda quite easily, but this is more difficult to do for the majority, for example in Europe, who are not familiar with China’s political system.”

She continued: “In Europe, China also rides on a wave of scepticism towards the EU and the US, as the narrative of China’s benevolence is contrasted with a lack of solidarity among EU countries and from the US.”

Zhao may have a free pass to make unverified claims on Twitter, a platform blocked in China, but ordinary members of the public have not been so lucky.



Last month a man in Inner Mongolia was detained for 10 days after claiming online that the coronavirus had been manufactured as an American bioweapon against China.

The Covid-19 outbreak has caused misinformation and conspiracies to proliferate online, with an analysis by the US think tank Foreign Research Institute this week finding that state-run outlets in China, Iran and Russia had all actively spread disinformation.

These included attempts to promote the narrative that the US was “weaponising the crisis for political gain and thus worsening its spread globally”.

One Chinese academic in Beijing criticised Zhao’s comments in a post on WeChat, saying they would further hurt relations with the US.

“As a government spokesperson, you should already know to speak and act cautiously,” he wrote. “To take some common hearsay as ‘evidence’ without any reason, and publicly post these far-fetched claims online … is extremely likely to stir up or deepen the conflict between countries.

“I cannot understand how this kind of hot-tempered person could advance so rapidly in his career.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×