Chinese investigators are so far unable to explain the ailments that have caused the State Department to evacuate multiple personnel from the country.
“By far, we have found no reason or clue that would lead to the situation reported by the U.S. side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded that at least one U.S. diplomat has “suffered a medical incident that is consistent with what happened to American officers” in Cuba last year, when two dozen officials sustained varying degrees of brain injuries from an unknown cause. Pompeo established a task force to lead a new investigation of the issue in recent weeks, but Hua said the Chinese investigation is already complete.
“After the previous report that a U.S. diplomatic employee stationed in China was allegedly affected by so-called sonic waves, the relevant Chinese authorities have carried out serious investigation and informed the U.S. side of the result,” she said.
As in the case of Cuba, some U.S. officials doubt that an operation against Americans could be carried out in China without the knowledge of government authorities. “I know that China knows what happens in their country,” the Florida Republican, who sits on the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, told the Washington Examiner. “The notion that something that sophisticated could happen without them either knowing who did it or doing it themselves is far-fetched.”
China pledged to cooperate in the investigation, however.
“They said all the right things, and … have demonstrated their willingness to help us identify the vector which led to this medical incident,” Pompeo told the Foreign Relations Committee during a May 24 hearing.
Hua declined to provide details about the investigation on Thursday.
“What I can tell you is that China has very responsibly investigated the issue that a U.S. diplomatic employee in China was allegedly affected by the so-called sonic waves,” she reiterated. “However, we have found no reason or clue that would lead to the situation reported by the U.S. side. We have made feedback to the U.S. side on this issue.”
