The U.S. is concerned Chinaβs runaway COVID-19 outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus, as the worldβs most populous country continues to grapple with the impact of loosening βCOVID zeroβ protocols that had kept the pandemic at bay.
βWhen it comes to the current outbreak in China, we want to see this addressed,β State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a briefing earlier this week. βWe know that anytime the virus is spreading in the wild that it has the potential to mutate and to pose a threat to people everywhere.β
Beds for patients are seen at a makeshift fever clinic on Dec. 20 in a stadium in Beijing.
Chinese cities are witnessing a wave of COVID-19 cases, with concerns growing that the government may be hiding the true toll of the virus after years of insisting that the Communist Party had handled the virus more skillfully than the West. On Monday, police and security guards pushed journalists back from a Beijing crematorium.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, Chinaβs U.S. embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said Monday that China has adopted βscientific and precise prevention and control measuresβ in order to minimize the impact of the virus on Chinaβs population and economy.
Liu added that China βcontinues to strengthen the genome monitoring of globally circulating, imported and locally circulating Omicron variants,β as well as the βtimely assessment of emerging variants to provide a scientific basis for the continuous optimization of prevention and control policies.β
The outbreak has grown following the governmentβs decision to lift a raft of strict restrictions, including quarantine and isolation protocols, that had largely insulated Chinaβs 1.4 billion people from the worst impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chinaβs U-turn on COVID-19 followed protests in late November in numerous Chinese cities after the containment measures were blamed for deaths after a fire in the countryβs western Xinjiang region.
Health agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have been on the lookout for new variants such as delta or omicron as COVID-19 waves hit different countries around the world. New variations βallow the virus to spread more easily or make it resistant to treatments or vaccines,β according to the CDC.
The U.S. β which is sending a delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing early in the new year β hopes China can get its current COVID-19 outbreak under control in part because any further blow to the Asian nation could further harm the global economy, Price said.
βThe toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world, given the size of Chinaβs GDP,β he said. βItβs not only good for China to be in a stronger position vis-a-vis COVID, but itβs good for the rest of the world as well.β
Photos: Protests spread across China
A delivery worker rides on his bike loaded with customer's groceries on a street in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protests against China's strict zero-COVID policies in Shanghai continued on Saturday afternoon, after police cleared away hundreds of protesters in the early morning hours with force and pepper spray. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman uses her smartphone to scan the health check QR codes before entering a supermarket stack with vegetables in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protests against China's overzealous zero-COVID policies in Shanghai continued on Saturday afternoon, after police cleared away hundreds of protesters in the early morning hours with force and pepper spray. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A man wearing a face mask flies a kite at a park in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protests against China's strict zero-COVID policies in Shanghai continued on Saturday afternoon, after police cleared away hundreds of protesters in the early morning hours with force and pepper spray. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Chinese police officers block off access to a site where protesters had gathered in Shanghai on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protests against China's strict "zero-COVID" policies resurfaced in Shanghai and Beijing on Sunday afternoon, continuing a round of demonstrations that have spread across the country since a deadly apartment fire in the northwestern city of Urumqi led to questions over such rigid anti-virus measures. (AP Photo)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A resident carries groceries walks by barricades laying around a closed coronavirus testing site in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protests against China's overzealous zero-COVID policies in Shanghai continued on Saturday afternoon, after police cleared away hundreds of protesters in the early morning hours with force and pepper spray. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they gather on a street during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A policeman films as they try to disperse a group of protesters during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they gather on a street during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A group of protesters light candles near a police road block during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman uses her smartphone to film another holding a sign with the street sign for Urumqi Road at a protest in Beijing during the early hours of Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A protester holds up a sign which reads "Commemorate Urumqi Nov 24 compatriots who died" in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A passerby tries to pass through a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Workers in protective gear gather for their duties in Beijing, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Authorities eased anti-virus rules in scattered areas but affirmed China's severe "zero- COVID" strategy Monday after crowds demanded President Xi Jinping resign during protests against controls that confine millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
In this photo taken on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, a protester holding flowers is confronted by a policeman during a protest on a street in Shanghai, China. Authorities eased anti-virus rules in scattered areas but affirmed China's severe "zero- COVID" strategy Monday after crowds demanded President Xi Jinping resign during protests against controls that confine millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo)
In this photo taken on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, policemen pin down and arrest a protester during a protest on a street in Shanghai, China. Authorities eased anti-virus rules in scattered areas but affirmed China's severe "zero- COVID" strategy Monday after crowds demanded President Xi Jinping resign during protests against controls that confine millions of people to their homes. (AP Photo)
Protesters hold up blank white papers during a commemoration for victims of a recent Urumqi deadly fire at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Students in Hong Kong chanted βoppose dictatorshipβ in a protest against Chinaβs anti-virus controls after crowds in mainland cities called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung)
Blank white papers and flowers are laid down during a commemoration for victims of a recent Urumqi deadly fire in Central in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Students in Hong Kong chanted βoppose dictatorshipβ in a protest against Chinaβs anti-virus controls after crowds in mainland cities called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades. (AP Photo/Zen Soo)
Chinese policemen form a line to stop protesters marching in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese police officers try to clear protesters in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters pass near a police car in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Protesters clash with policemen during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they gather on a street during a protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
