Beijing (TDI): China on Monday dismissed the possibility of Covid-19 originating from a laboratory, flowing the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) claim that a lab leak was more likely than natural transmission.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that the conclusion that a laboratory leak is extremely unlikely was reached by the China-WHO joint expert team based on field visits to relevant laboratories in Wuhan.
“This has been widely recognised by the global community and the scientific community,” she added.
The CIA said on Saturday the Covid-19 virus was “more likely” leaked from a Chinese lab than transmitted by animals.
The assessment followed John Ratcliffe’s recent confirmation as CIA director, with the agency stating it has “low confidence” that Covid-19 more likely originated from a lab than through natural transmission, based on available reports.
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The agency had not previously made any determination on whether Covid-19 had been unleashed by a laboratory mishap or transmitted from animals.
China on Monday urged the US to “stop politicising the issue of origin-tracing”.
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Mao said Washington should “stop smearing and shifting the blame to other nations (and) should respond to the legitimate concerns of the global community as soon as possible”.
