A Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday urged certain U.S. officials to respect the facts, science and the international consensus, and stop spreading conspiracy theories surrounding the origin of the COVID-19 virus.
Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a press briefing when commenting on the recent claims of some U.S. officials that the virus originated from a Wuhan virology lab.
"The origin of COVID-19 is a matter of science, which should depend on scientists and medical experts to find out, but should not be politicized," Geng said.
Public health scientists and experts from the World Health Organization and most countries, including the United States, generally believe that there is no evidence to indicate the novel coronavirus originated from a lab, he said.
According to Geng, the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has denied the unsubstantiated and illogical claims of the U.S. side when giving an interview, stressing that the institute has a strict regulatory regime.
No staff of the institute was infected with the virus and all members are devoting themselves to the research work, Geng said, citing the director.
Geng said the irresponsible conspiracy theories by some U.S. individuals can only disrupt scientific research and damage the cooperation between scientists of the two countries. "These people should realize that their enemy is virus, not China."
"Their top priority should be focusing on the domestic prevention and control of the epidemic and strengthening international cooperation, rather than attacking and smearing China or deflecting the blame," Geng said.
