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Tight monitoring Success of Politicizing nation a boon for foreign virus-tracing companies

By He Wei in Shanghai [email protected] jointly opposed For many multinational corpo- rations, the China story in recent decades has been a win-win More international voices call for fair, result. International businesses have expanded their reach to cap- objective COVID origin investigation ture vast market opportunities, while China has grown in eco- By MO JINGXI The joint statement was issued aft- nomic strength and enhanced the [email protected] er nearly 70 countries expressed welfare of its 1.4 billion people. opposition to politicization of origin- Inside Many of the suc- More than 300 political parties, tracing by writing letters to WHO cess stories of these organizations and think tanks from Director-General Tedros Adhanom foreign companies See more, over 100 countries and regions sub- Ghebreyesus, issuing statements and page 15 have dovetailed with mitted a joint statement on Monday sending notes. the first centenary to the World Health Organization Sec- Politicians and experts in many goal set out by the Communist Par- retariat, rejecting the politicization of countries also have expressed their ty of China of building a moderately the COVID-19 origin study and calling rejection of attempts by certain prosperous society in all respects. for an objective, fair investigation. countries, including the United An employee monitors the temperature of passengers at Terminal 2 of Shanghai Hongqiao Interna- “One of the key factors behind Humanity lives in a community States, to politicize COVID-19 ori- tional Airport on Sunday. Airport employees have been instructed to check the health code of all pas- this centenary accomplishment is with a shared future and no country gin-tracing, emphasizing that the sengers arriving in Shanghai. YIN LIQIN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE See more, page 3 the strong leadership of the CPC, can survive major crises by itself, study of the origin must be based on which has successfully united peo- they said, calling for solidarity from evidence and science. ple to strive together for a common the international community to Despite the WHO-China joint goal,” said Leon Wang, executive fight the virus, which knows no report issued in March that said a vice-president of AstraZeneca boundaries or races. “lab leak” hypothesis was “extreme- Measures needed to minimize risk International, who also acts as the Inside However, they ly unlikely”, US politicians, includ- company’s China unit president. pointed out in the ing Secretary of State Antony With more than 20 years in joint statement that Blinken, have still insisted on carry- By HOU LIQIANG China, the global pharma giant Editorial, page 9 the plan proposed by ing out a virus origin probe in China. [email protected] Henan flooding death toll rises to 302 has both benefited and contrib- the WHO for the sec- In a statement issued on Friday, uted to improved medical bene- ond phase of the origin-tracing the African National Congress, Ten days after floodwaters fits in a country where medical investigation will not help to South Africa’s ruling party, said that claimed the lives of six people in The death toll from torrential rains collapses; 39 drowned in under- needs provide business opportu- advance global cooperation on trac- it supports science-based inquiries the Jingguang Expressway tunnel in central China’s Henan province ground spaces such as the subway, nities as well as social challenges. ing the virus origins, as it is incon- in tracing the virus’ origin of the cor- in downtown Zhengzhou, Henan has risen to 302 as of Monday noon, the tunnel and garages; and 10 peo- Willie Tan, CEO of Skechers sistent with the resolution of the onavirus that causes COVID-19, calls province, traffic slowly resumed. the information office of the provin- ple died from other causes. China, South Korea and South- 73rd World Health Assembly, did for global cooperation and decries On Friday, a two-way lane cial government said at a news brief- The State Council, China’s Cabi- east Asia, said reform and open- not involve full consultation with politicization of such inquiries. opened and all cars entering the ing on Monday afternoon. Another net, announced on Monday that it ing-up and peaceful and high- member states, and failed to reflect “Only when we unite can we truly tunnel honked their horns and 50 people remain missing, said the had set up an investigative team to quality development represent the latest global research outcomes. defeat the virus,” it said. flashed their lights as a mark of office. look into the Zhengzhou flood and the three pillars guiding China’s They called on the WHO Secretar- Speaking at a virtual news brief- respect for the dead. A total of 292 people were con- evaluate the disaster-response pro- growth into the next phase. iat to carry out cooperation with ing on Friday, Philippine Health Sec- On July 20, heavy rain hit Zheng- firmed dead and 47 missing in cess, to draw lessons from it and to “These three points work member states, give full considera- retary Francisco Duque III said that zhou, causing citywide flooding. Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, punish those responsible. together to exert great and prac- tion to new scientific evidence and the government shuns politicization Over a 24-hour period, 624.1 milli- with seven people dead and three The team will be headed by the tical significance to the smooth fully adopt suggestions made by the of anything related to COVID-19. meters of rain fell, close to the city’s missing in Xinxiang. Pingdingshan Ministry of Emergency Management operation of the Chinese econo- WHO-China joint report. “Whatever is being politicized by annual average rainfall of 641 mm. reported two deaths and Luohe and include officials and experts my,” Tan said. They also expressed support for certain leaders, by certain politi- As the deluge hit, water quickly reported one death. from relevant departments, the State The optimistic views of foreign medical experts and researchers cians, we leave it to them,” he was filled the Jingguang Expressway Of the victims in Zhengzhou, 189 Council said in a statement. companies on China were rein- conducting virus origin-tracing quoted by the Philippine News tunnel, which consists of three sec- were killed directly by floods and forced by the strong rebound of work in various countries and Agency as saying. tions. A total of 247 vehicles were debris flow; 54 were killed by house XINHUA—China Daily the Chinese economy amid the regions across the world in order to Usman Sarki, the former Nigerian submerged, and five men and one pandemic. Despite the recent sof- gain experience for preventing the deputy representative to the United woman were killed, according to tening of growth momentum, the next possible pandemic. Nations, told China Central Televi- the Zhengzhou government. Chinese economy remains steady The joint statement also praised sion on Friday that the US govern- Yang Junkui, a driver with a car- the wheels of his car were lifted off realized the danger, they were una- recovery supported by timely and China and some other countries for ment is using the China card to hailing service platform, said when the ground. He jumped out of the ble to open their car doors,” he was effective government measures to actively providing vaccines to devel- address the domestic problems it he passed the tunnel at around 4 car and persuaded nearby motor- quoted as saying by China National shore up domestic consumption oping countries and called for capa- faces amid the pandemic, instead of pm on July 20, water was pouring ists to abandon their vehicles. Radio. and investment. ble countries to avoid restrictions on truly being interested in finding out in “as swift as big waves”. “The water level went up so vaccine exports or hoarding. the origin of the virus. As the water level rose quickly, quickly that when some drivers See Tunnel, page 4 See Growth, page 3 China surges ahead after Coral reefs face hectic hour at Olympics desperate struggle ◆ By Sun Xiaochen Medal List Climate change takes its toll [email protected] Ranking Total on marine ecosystems At the halfway point of the 1 China 29 17 16 62 Tokyo 2020 Games, Team China By KARL WILSON in Sydney 2 has already surpassed its gold US 22 25 17 64 [email protected] medal haul from the previous 3 Japan 17 6 10 33 Olympics after winning five events 4 Australia 14 4 15 33 rom the Aleutian Islands off on Monday. the coast of Alaska to the 5 * China leads the medal table with ROC 12 21 17 50 warm waters of the Carib- Ten environmental groups in Aus- 29 gold, 17 silver and 16 bronze 6 Britain 11 12 12 35 bean Sea, Southeast Asia tralia wrote to the UN’s World Heri- medals, followed by the United 7 France 6 10 7 23 Fand the Red Sea, coral reefs swarm tage Committee, urging it to put the States with 22 golds, 25 silvers and 8 Germany 6 6 11 23 Chinese cyclists celebrate after winning the gold medal in the with colorful marine life. reef on the “in danger” list. 17 bronze. The women’s team sprint finals at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday However, these great natural A letter from group members that 9 South Korea 6 4 9 19 Inside host Japan is in in Japan. MATTHEW CHILDS / REUTERS wonders of the world face an uncer- appeared in The Guardian on July third with 17 10 5 7 6 18 tain future due to climate change. 13 stated, “While parts of the Great See more, golds, six silvers The biggest coral reefs are found Barrier Reef remain beautiful, we pages 19, 20 * Russian Olympic Committee and 10 bronzes. Source: IOC CHINA DAILY defend China’s title in the women’s won the +87 kg category. in the clear, shallow waters of the cannot underestimate the existen- At the 2016 Rio team sprint, with a time of 31.895 Gymnast Liu Yang led a China tropics and subtropics. The largest tial threat from climate change, Games, China finished third in the seconds. one-two in the men’s gymnastics of these, Australia’s Great Barrier with substantial coral loss in recent standings behind the US and Great leading positions on the medal Earlier in the day, the pair further rings event when he outperformed Reef, is more than 2,400 kilometers years from mass coral bleaching Britain, with 26 gold medals. table” while ensuring the country’s trimmed China’s world record in the compatriot You Hao. It was the first long and is causing significant con- events in 2016, 2017 and 2020.” Before departing for Tokyo, the commitment to “competing for event with a time of 31.804 in their time team China had come first cerns for the United Nations Educa- Signatories included the Austra- head of China’s delegation, Gou clean medals with integrity and first round victory over Lithuania. and second in the event since the tional, Scientific and Cultural lian Marine Conservation Society, Zhongwen called on the nation’s sportsmanship”. “It feels so rewarding and excit- Olympics. Organization’s Heritage Committee. Greenpeace Australia Pacific, WWF- athletes to improve on the Rio haul On a busy Monday afternoon, ing to be able to pull this off after I In a high-profile badminton The Australian government is Australia, the Seed Indigenous and stop the country’s slide down Team China netted four gold med- suffered a lot of injuries and set- men’s singles final, China’s 2016 now in damage-control mode. On Youth Climate Network, The Wil- the medal table at recent Olympics. als in a hectic hour. backs in the years since my last win Olympic champion Chen Long was July 15, a delegation of ambassadors derness Society and the Australian After topping the standings with Zhang Changhong secured Team in Rio,” said an ecstatic Zhong, who beaten by Denmark’s Viktor Axel- to UNESCO was flown, at the Conservation Foundation. 48 golds at the Beijing Olympics in China’s 27th gold medal in Tokyo won China’s first gold sen, 21-15, 21-12. expense of Australian taxpayers, to 2008, Team China finished second with victory in the men’s 50-meter in the event with former partner With the women’s volleyball see the reef firsthand. SEE Reefs, PAGE 2 behind the United States with 38 rifle-shooting three positions event. Gong Jinjie in 2016. team suffering early elimination, golds at London in 2012. Momentum shifted to the China scored a double in the the women’s basketball team has © 2021 China Daily , All Rights Reserved Gou, who is also president of the cycling velodrome where Zhong women’s weightlifting when Wang generated excitement among fans Vol.25 — No. 7562 Chinese Olympic Committee, said Tianshi and Bao Shanju outraced Zhouyu won the women’s 87-kilo- after beating Belgium 74-62 and the aim of Team China was, “to the German duo of Lea Friedrich gram division followed by Li Wen- advancing to the quarterfinals on A member of the make sure that we finish within the and in the final to wen in the evening session who Wednesday. Asia News Network