China Reports Latest COVID Situation in Meeting with WHO

Patients lie on beds in a hallway in the emergency department of Zhongshan Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Staff
Patients lie on beds in a hallway in the emergency department of Zhongshan Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Staff
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China Reports Latest COVID Situation in Meeting with WHO

Patients lie on beds in a hallway in the emergency department of Zhongshan Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Staff
Patients lie on beds in a hallway in the emergency department of Zhongshan Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Staff

Officials and experts from China on Thursday attended an online meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO), China's national health commission said in a statement.

During the meeting Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials and experts from Southeast University reported on China's latest COVID-19 prevention and control measures, its monitoring of mutated virus strains, vaccination efforts and the treatment of infections, the health commission said.

The WHO's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Wednesday that Chinese officials were under-representing data on several fronts, some of the UN agency's most critical remarks to date.

China has played down the severity of the situation. The state-run Global Times wrote on Wednesday that COVID had peaked in Beijing and several cities, citing interviews with doctors.

China's CanSino Biologics Inc reported on Thursday "positive" interim data on its experimental COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine in a mid-stage clinical trial.

The clinical study was to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity for adults aged 18 years and above, the pharmaceutical firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The vaccine, called CS-2034, was tested as a booster on people who had received three doses of an inactivated vaccine, it said. Such vaccines, like those made by Sinopharm and SinoVac, are the type used in China.

China has nine domestically-developed COVID vaccines approved for use, but none are based on the messenger RNA technology used in the shots developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The Chinese shots have also not been updated to target the highly infectious Omicron variant.

CanSino obtained approval to start the clinical trial on mRNA vaccine in April.



Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
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Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)

China has urged a return to negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis as Washington called on Tehran to halt its nuclear escalation and missile activities. Meanwhile, Iran lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, warning of swift retaliation against any US or Israeli attack.

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday his threat of an unprecedented strike on Iran if it refuses his offer for talks. According to sources, Trump sent a message to the Iranian leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month deadline to respond.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the possibility of an external attack on Monday but warned the US of a strong response if it took military action. He stated that if Washington attempted to incite unrest within Iran, “the Iranian people would respond as they have in the past”.

Later, Iran formally complained to the UN Security Council about what it described as “reckless and hostile” US statements.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote that Tehran “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”

China, for its part, criticized Washington’s threats of military force against Iran’s nuclear program. According to the Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged the US to return to the negotiating table and demonstrate goodwill, stressing that sanctions and military threats will not lead to a resolution.

He further emphasized that Beijing believes the only effective solution is a political and diplomatic one and urged a renewed consensus within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani rejected the threats against Iran. In a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, he expressed Iraq’s commitment to Iran’s security and stability.

Iraq’s official news agency reported that Sudani emphasized coordination among Islamic nations to confront shared challenges and threats, fostering security and stability.

In response to Khamenei’s speech, the Trump administration reiterated its determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. While reaffirming its preference for diplomacy, it warned that other options remain on the table.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration will not allow a nuclear Iran.

She accused Iran of being a key state sponsor of terrorism, supporting groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda. She also pointed to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organization.

Referencing Trump’s message to Iran, she outlined Washington’s demands: Tehran must halt its nuclear escalation, end its ballistic missile program, dismantle its regional proxy networks, cease aggressive activities, stop repressing its own people, and abandon the destabilizing actions of the IRGC.