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China shares Russia's alarm over US research into biological weapons

The Chinese diplomat said that given the current situation, the United States must agree to the creation of a special monitoring mechanism that would ensure the effective exchange of crucial biotechnological information with other countries

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying Artyom Ivanov/TASS

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying

© Artyom Ivanov/TASS

BEIJING, May 12. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities share Russia's concerns over US research into biological weapons and believe it is necessary to put such activity under effective international control, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

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"We insist the US side should take real action to ensure full transparency and security of projects that are related to biological experiments at US laboratories," Hua told a news briefing, while commenting on a recent statement by First Deputy Secretary of Russia's Security Council Yuri Averyanov. "Beijing has addressed Washington more than once with demands for full transparency on matters related to the militarization of biological research in the United States and elsewhere."

The Chinese diplomat said that given the current situation, the United States must agree to the creation of a special monitoring mechanism that would ensure the effective exchange of crucial biotechnological information with other countries.

"The whole international community is interested in this," she said. "It is very annoying that the United States has shrugged off the concerns of other countries, including Russia."

Averyanov said earlier that the United States and NATO were expanding a network of biological laboratories around Russia. He warned that pathogenic microorganisms created there might be released into the environment by accident and cause a massive infectious outbreak that would threaten the population.

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