ZHAO LIJIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER on RUSSIAN FINDING OF BIO LABS IN UKRAINE 3-9-2022.

CCTV: According to reports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said about US military biological laboratories, “There are hundreds of such laboratories, including almost 30 just in Ukraine alone”, which pose “life-threatening dangers to a huge number of civilians”. “And many were set up in a number of former Soviet countries precisely along the perimeter of Russia’s borders, as well as on China’s borders, and on the borders of the other countries located there”. He added that Russia will demand that “this problem be considered within the context of the commitments for all countries participating in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention” and “double and triple our efforts to make the Americans stop blocking our proposal … about the need to establish a special verification mechanism under this convention”. Does the Chinese side support Russia’s demand?

Zhao Lijian: We have noted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks. Biological security bears on the common interest of all humanity. The US has the obligation to comply with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and to offer clarifications on matters the international community is concerned about. In fact, the international community has long-held severe concerns about the biological military activities conducted by the US at home and overseas. This is neither about US labs in Ukraine alone nor a new problem caused by the current situation.