China accused the United States of politicizing the corona epidemic. In response to reports that the Ministry of Energy concluded that a leak from a laboratory caused the spread of corona around the world. “Stop defaming China”
China rejects the report according to which a leak from a laboratory probably caused corona. China has accused the United States of politicizing the pandemic in response to reports that the Department of Energy concluded that an accidental laboratory leak likely caused the spread of coronavirus around the world.
“Monitoring Corona is a scientific issue that should not be politicized,” Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said of the Energy Ministry’s conclusion. She then repeated calls for the United States to “stop defaming China” by bringing up the lab leaks theory.
China’s response adds to the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing this month, following the incident of a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US sky and American accusations that China is considering supplying Russia with arms and ammunition against Ukraine.
China has repeatedly dismissed the lab leak theory as politically motivated misinformation designed to defame China. The Chinese argue that the US Department of Energy’s theory has no basis in scientific fact, pointing to a World Health Organization report published in 2021 that found it “highly unlikely” that the epidemic emerged accidentally from a Chinese laboratory.
The report, which aims to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, has been the subject of much debate because China heavily influenced its findings by appointing half of the scientists involved in the project.