The new inquiry into coronavirus will not heal the deep global division the pandemic has caused

The composition and remit of the World Health Organisation review, when it takes place, will be subject to intense scrutiny, writes Kim Sengupta

President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the World Health Organisation (AFP)

The annual meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which took place while it is enmeshed in the most acrimonious controversy in its 72-year history, ended with an agreement to hold an investigation into the origins of coronavirus.

As well as announcing the inquiry, the conference backed the leadership of the WHO – which has been accused of complicity with the Chinese government in hiding the start of the Covid-19 (which the WHO denies) – a fatal delay which allowed the pandemic to spread across the world at a devastating human and economic cost.

But the votes did little to hide the cracks in an organisation now caught up in the geopolitical confrontation between the US and some of its allies and China, which is continuing to escalate.

This is partly because Donald Trump, under fire for his handling of the pandemic in America, appears to be set on making China the external enemy in his re-election campaign.

However, there are also questions from other countries who do not want turbulence within the WHO now, but want serious questions asked in the future on whether it was fit for purpose in the early days of the contagion.

An attempt at the World Health Assembly to get Taiwan back to the WHO as an observer state also failed when it became apparent that its western backers would not be able to muster sufficient votes for it to pass. Taiwan has instituted an effective policy on Covid-19, registering fewer than 450 cases across a population of 24 million. It had its observer status withdrawn in 2016 following Chinese pressure and the WHO leadership is accused of knocking back Taipei’s offers of help in the crisis.

The wording of the investigation resolution was brokered by the European Union and India. It did not name either China or Wuhan as the source of the contagion, and it will be held under the auspices of WHO. In that sense it does not meet the scope of a totally independent investigation focusing on Beijing’s conduct called for by Australia, with American and other western backing.

Indeed that is the claim of the Chinese government, who vehemently attacked the Australian demand and declared that what was adopted at the WHO conference was “completely different”.

The composition and remit of the investigation, when it takes place, will be subject to intense scrutiny. One of the charges against the Chinese government is that it has refused access by international organisations, including the WHO, to some of the areas where the disease was spreading. Beijing admitted recently that it destroyed early samples of the coronavirus pathogen.

Officials in Washington have already warned that they will examine the investigation rigorously – that is if the US is still a member of the WHO having already suspended its funding of the organisation.

As the World Health Assembly started, in a virtual form, on Monday, Trump sent a letter to the WHO declaring: “If the WHO does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the WHO permanently and reconsider our membership.”

The letter was addressed to the director general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus​, who has been accused, with some justification, of being supine towards China and especially towards President Xi Jinping over the contagion.

Tedros has come under sustained criticism from the US president and there have been calls for his dismissal by Republican congressmen. But this would entail a vote of no-confidence by member states, and there is little or no prospect of that taking place at the moment.

Trump’s letter to the WHO, which he also tweeted, has some factual mistakes. He claimed that Lancet, the medical journal, has published a report on the virus in late 2019.

The Lancet subsequently said: “This statement is factually incorrect. The Lancet published no report in December 2019, referring to a virus or outbreak in Wuhan or anywhere else in China” It wanted to stress that ”The allegations levelled against the WHO in President Trump’s letter are serious and damaging to efforts to strengthen international cooperation to control this pandemic. It is essential that any review of the global response is based on a factually accurate account of what took place in December and January.”

This is hardly likely to concern a president who is often wrong in matters of fact, and frequently tells untruths. The question is how far he is prepared to take his campaign against the WHO and the broader one against China.

There have been calls for “decoupling” the US economy from China before Trump got to the White House. He had started a trade war with Beijing, but has also signed an agreement. And his attitude towards Xi is one he has shown towards some other strongmen leaders in the world including Kim Jong-un of North Korea – a special relationship based on personal dynamics.

Exactly when China warned the WHO about Covid-19 and when the WHO should have warned the world remains a matter of dispute. But reports about the lethal reach of the virus was believed to be in Washington by late December and early January.

Trump has admitted that US intelligence agencies had brought the matter to his attention in late January. However from then on, until the end of February, he was fulsome in his praise of China and its president Xi Jinping no fewer than 15 times.

On 24 January: “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

On 10 February: “I think China is very, you know, professionally run in the sense that they have everything under control. I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon….China I can tell you is working very hard.”

On 29 February: “China seems to be making tremendous progress... I think our relationship with China is very good. We just did a big trade deal. We’re starting on another trade deal with China – a very big one. And we’ve been working very closely… having to do with the virus.”

The Chinese government’s approach on coronavirus has been one of denial of any cover-up and then attempts to claim that the disease was planted by American spies and/or that it started in Europe or America.

Their diplomats have been particularly aggressive, issuing threats as well as denials, a “wolf warrior” brand of diplomacy (named after an action film about Chinese soldiers) which has become noticeable even before the pandemic crisis. Gui Congyou, the Chinese ambassador to Sweden, declared last year after his country was criticised over its human rights record “we treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we got shotguns”.

Responding to Trump’s letter, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, said: “The letter from the US leader is full of hints and ambiguous rhetoric. It is an attempt to mislead the public, slander China’s effort in containing the coronavirus, and shift the blame to others. This is in vain.”

There has been particular outrage in Beijing over the criticism from Australia over the virus and the calls for an independent investigation.

The state run Global Times newspaper in the wake of the WHO meeting, described Australia as “a giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US”. Its editor Hu Xijin, a prominent establishment figure, has previously called Australia a “bit like chewing gum stuck on sole of China’s shoes”.

Australia is deemed by Beijing to be vulnerable on trade, the Chinese government has already slapped tariffs on Australian barley and banned some beef exports. Now, according a report by Bloomberg news agency, wine, dairy, seafood and oatmeal could be subjected to new customs rules.

With the cosh has come the carrot. There was some surprise when China failed to make a contribution at a European Union funded drive earlier this month to raise $ 8bn for research into finding a vaccine for Covid-19. But, Xi pledged $2bn to countries suffering from the pandemic at the WHO meeting.

Projecting China as a global leader in the fight against the contagion, he insisted “we have provided information to WHO and relevant countries in a most timely fashion. We have released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time. We have shared control and treatment experience with the world without reservation. We have done everything in our power to support and assist countries in need”.

Deep suspicion of Chinese conduct on the virus, however, is not just confined to the US and the west. The World Health Assembly saw salvoes being fired in an international confrontation which is likely to go on for a long time.