COVID-19 origin-tracing controversies aim to 'divert attention' from China's success, expert says

GENEVA - Controversy around tracing the origins of COVID-19 "seems like a concerted effort by American political and media elites to divert attention from the amazing job China did in managing the initial outbreak," according to one professor.

Kenneth Hammond, a professor at New Mexico State University who specializes in Chinese history, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that the controversy is contrived to scapegoat China and avoid assuming political responsibility for America's public health failure.

"The story of China's response should be an inspiration for people everywhere, but at least in America, and its subordinate allies, the story has been thoroughly suppressed and the essentially meaningless questions about the origins have been given exclusive attention," said the expert.

For Hammond, the pernicious lab-leak narrative of the virus' origins is being relentlessly propagated and requires pushback.

"I think it is unfortunate that so much time and energy has had to be diverted to addressing this contrived narrative," he said.

Hammond believes that the reason behind the relentlessly propagated narrative is that "American politicians, and their wealthy interests which essentially control them, are very worried about losing their role as the dominant power in global affairs as China re-emerges as a major factor in the development of the world economy and in geopolitical relations."

"These elites are anxious to stall or thwart China's development in any way they can, and to foster an attitude of hatred and mistrust towards China among the American people," he said.

"The virus origin issue is one way to promote fear and anxiety among otherwise well-intentioned people. It has nothing to do with the actual scientific evidence, which seems pretty straightforward," said Hammond while noting, "though, of course, nothing in science is ever 100 percent incontrovertible."