Impact on US-China Relationship in conjunction with Covid-19 Origin Investigations

US President Joe Biden is expecting a 45-day update on a US investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The investigation, led by the US intelligence services, is drawing widespread media attention, with scientists, political scientists and health experts weighing in on the polarising hypothesis of whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

While evidence to support the lab leak theory remains purely circumstantial, the US investigation comes amid strained relations between Beijing and Washington, particularly as the Biden Administration considers further actions in response to Beijing’s crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

How may Washington's virus origin investigation shape the direction of travel for already fraught Sino-US relations? With Covid-19 still affecting much of the world, how will the ongoing feud between the two world's largest economies affect our response to this and future pandemics?

Join your host Justin Crump, CEO of Sibylline, along with Guo Yu, our Lead Analyst for Asia-Pacific and resident China expert, James Hannan, our Americas Analyst and avid Covid-watcher, and John Breen, Lead Analyst for Global Risks.