China stated on Monday that it was “extremely unlikely” that Covid-19 originated from a laboratory, following the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) claim that the virus was more likely to have come from a lab rather than through natural transmission.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning explained that the conclusion that a lab leak was highly unlikely was based on findings from the China-WHO joint expert team, which conducted field visits to relevant laboratories in Wuhan.
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“This conclusion has been widely accepted by the international and scientific communities,” Mao added.
The CIA stated on Saturday that it believed the virus was “more likely” to have leaked from a lab in China than to have been transmitted by animals.
This new assessment followed John Ratcliffe’s confirmation last week as CIA director during Donald Trump’s second term in office.
A CIA spokesperson said in a statement that the agency now “assesses with low confidence” that a research-related origin of the Covid-19 pandemic is more probable than a natural one, based on available reports.
Previously, the CIA had not taken a stance on whether the virus was caused by a laboratory incident or a spillover from animals.
In response, Beijing urged the United States to “stop politicizing and weaponizing the issue of origin-tracing.”
Mao also stated that Washington should “stop smearing and blaming other countries” and should address the legitimate concerns of the international community promptly.
