OBSERVER REPORT
BEIJ ING China dismissed as groundless on Monday Australia’s questioning of how Beijing handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had been open and transparent. Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus, joining a chorus of concern over how China tackled the virus that emerged in its central city of Wuhan last year. In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said Payne’s remarks were “entirely without factual basis,” adding that questioning China’s transparency was unfounded and showed a lack of respect for the sacrifices of its people. “China expresses deep concern and resolute opposition to this,” Geng Shuang told reporters during a daily briefing.
