China Refutes Claims: "No Evidence That COVID-19 Virus Originated in Wuhan"

"I don't think there is a possibility of leakage from the laboratory"

Hua Chunying, Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Photo by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] China has refuted the claim made by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) originated from the Wuhan Virus Research Institute.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a regular briefing on the 6th, "Almost all top-level scientists believe that the COVID-19 virus is not man-made but naturally occurring, and there is no possibility that it leaked from a laboratory."

Spokesperson Hua pointed out, "The United States should stop shifting responsibility onto China," adding, "Determining the origin should be left to scientists, not politicians."

She also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs as retaliation for China’s COVID-19 response, saying, "Tariffs should not be used as a weapon," and "The weapon of tariffs harms not only the opponent but also oneself."

Earlier, President Trump claimed on the 30th of last month, "There is evidence that the COVID-19 virus originated from the Wuhan Virus Research Institute." Secretary Pompeo also mentioned on the 3rd, "There is massive evidence that the COVID-19 virus came from the Wuhan Virus Research Institute."

In response, Spokesperson Hua said that the U.S. attacking China over the COVID-19 outbreak is part of the strategy of President Trump’s camp ahead of this year’s election.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.