Exclusive-China out of UN's wildlife survey for pandemic controls - source

FILE PHOTO: Men walk past a banner hung on the ticket office of the Beijing Zoo that is closed following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Beijing, China February 10, 2020. The Chinese characters on the banner read, "Stay focused and united, have faith and confidence, with scientific prevention and control, we can beat the epidemic". REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

China is not participating in a United Nations project to survey Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, despite long-running talks with Beijing, a UN official told Reuters.

China's hesitancy to join the UN project involving other Asian nations may compound frustration by global researchers who have been pressing Beijing to share information about the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission.