Joe Biden, Xi Jinping Discuss Probe Into Origins Of Covid: White House

Thursday's 90-minute call was the first talks for US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in seven months amid cool relations between the countries.

US 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. "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. Beijing denies the US accusation that it has not cooperated with the pandemic source investigation.