Catastrophes are revenue enhancers for our secret betters.
Sounds like a press release designed to convince us that FraudCo knew nothing about it.
I was working in China in 1999-2000 during China’s negotiations to enter the WTO. During the whole period, American industry of all sorts were continuously complaining about Chinese tariff, regulatory and other barriers which made it difficult to sell or operate there. The deal allowed China to keep high duties and protect its industry, with promises of future reductions, while immediately allowing MFN access to US and EU markets.
Regardless of that, Bill Clinton, was looking for a short-term foreign policy talking-points and some headlines for himself and Al Gore, approved the deal - and the rest is history
Politicians can be real @$$holes like that.
I am not certain how the EU could have stopped the ChiComs from building a virus lab staffed by evil scientists. All that the EU stupidly signed off on was to pay for it and and give the ChiComs access to EU experts, technology, and equipment for nefarious ends therefor providing the opportunity for the ChiComs to rip of the technology and procedural know how.