Yang, China's top diplomat, expressed Beijing's serious concern to Blinken that some people in the United States were spreading the 'absurd story' about the coronavirus escaping from a Wuhan laboratory, Chinese state media said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with China's top diplomat by phone Friday and pressed him for transparency on the origins of COVID-19. Blinken also called on China to stop its pressure campaign against Taiwan and to release 'wrongfully detained' U.S. and Canadian citizens, it said in a statement. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States think tank, said that although the agenda included potential areas of cooperation, the conversation appeared dominated by contentious issues. 'We urge the United States to respect facts and science, refrain from politicizing the issue ... and focus on international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic,' Yang said.

Source: Daily Mail June 11, 2021 18:29 UTC