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White House says Biden, Xi discussed origins of COVID probe

11 September 2021 01:20 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 during a call on Thursday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, according to the White House, APA reports quoting Reuters.

"They did discuss a range of trans-national issues including COVID-19, and understanding its origins is of course a primary concern for this administration," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. "Yes, it was a topic raised, but I'm not going to go into further detail."

Biden vowed last month to press China for answers over the origins of a pandemic that has now killed 4.8 million people worldwide. Intelligence agencies said they could not resolve a debate over whether the virus emerged from a Chinese research laboratory without Beijing's help.