China out of UN's wildlife survey for pandemic controls

 China is not participating in a United Nations project to survey Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, despite long-running talks with Beijing, a UN official told Reuters.

China's hesitancy to join the UN project involving other Asian nations may compound frustration by global researchers who have been pressing Beijing to share information about the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission.

Four Asian countries - China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos - were initially selected for the survey by the scientific advisory committee of the project, called the Safety across Asia For the global Environment (SAFE), because they host multiple facilities presenting risks of animal-to-human disease transmission, the UN official said.

The selection for the project, launched in July 2021, was also made after major wildlife trafficking cases were detected, investigated and prosecuted in those countries, which increased zoonotic risks, the official said.

"China was initially in discussions to be part of the project," the official said, declining to be named as the information was deemed sensitive.

The official said discussions with China are still ongoing, but did not clarify with which state institution the UN project is holding talks.

China's foreign ministry and the country's National Forestry and Grasslands Administration (NFGA), which oversees the management of wildlife and was involved in initial talks with the project organisers, did not respond to requests for comment.

The official said NFGA initially showed interest in the project but eventually declined to join, saying it was not under its remit. The agency did not indicate which government agencies would be responsible for the matter, the official said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which monitors illegal wildlife trafficking and coordinates the SAFE project, had no immediate comment.

https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-china-uns-wildlife-survey-055202920.html