CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA) – Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne has urged China to give access to World Health Organization (WHO) officials investigating the origins of COVID-19, on Thursday.
“We hope that the necessary permissions for the WHO team’s travel to China can be issued without delay,” Payne said.
Earlier this week, the head of the WHO said he was “very disappointed” that China had still not authorised the entry of a team of international coronavirus experts.
Stressing the importance of the WHO-convened scientific study, Payne said, “We look forward to the findings from the international field mission to China”.
Over the past few months Australia saw it’s relations with China sour, as the country has been a leading voice in calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.
China, Australia’s top trade partner, has since limited beef imports, imposed tariffs on Australian wine and told its millers to stop buying Australian cotton.