Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the opening speech at an annual meeting of the World Health Organisation on May 18 via a video feed, where he portrayed China as an exemplar of “transparency” during the pandemic and a champion of the developing world. Xi Jinping announced a US$ 2 billion commitment to the international fight against the novel coronavirus, including funding to help reinforce health infrastructure in Africa. In his speech, Xi Jinping did not reject the increasingly popular calls for a “comprehensive review” into COVID-19, but spoke of a review focusing on “global responses” rather than the origins of the virus.  He said it should be “based on science” and the comprehensive review should be led by the WHO. Xi Jinping twice referred to his concept of “shared future for the people of the world to work as one", or "common destiny". Some reporters said “drafts of the proposed resolution showed a focus on international collaboration to manage the pandemic, with relatively limited emphasis on questioning its source.” Xi Jinping also extolled the necessity of “information-sharing” and the virtues of “openness” while sidestepping the many grievances over China’s conduct during the pandemic. 

(Comment: There was no reference to the EU conference on May 15, which raised US$ 8 billion in funds for global assistance for tackling Coronavirus and unlike the 42 other countries represented by heads of government or senior officials, China sent a low-ranking representative. It made no funding commitment.)