On Wednesday, Beijing accused Washington of undermining its own credibility after a top US intelligence official stated that the pandemic was “most likely” caused by a laboratory incident in Wuhan, China.
On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News that the source of Covid-19 was “most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.”
Chinese officials reacted angrily, calling the claim a smear campaign against Beijing.
“The United States stirs up the laboratory leak theory once more, which will not discredit China and will further erode its own credibility,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing on Wednesday.
Wray’s comments come after the US Department of Energy said earlier this week that a leak from a Chinese lab was the most likely cause of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The findings of the department are significant because it collaborates with a network of national laboratories, including some that conduct advanced biological research.
Other US intelligence agencies, however, believe the virus emerged naturally in the world.
Wray also accused the Chinese government of attempting to stymie US efforts to investigate the causes of the pandemic in the interview on Tuesday.
“The Chinese government… has done its best to thwart and obfuscate the work that we’re doing, the work that our US government and close foreign partners are doing,” Wray said.
“And that’s bad news for everyone.”
Mao reiterated a long-standing and unsubstantiated Chinese claim that the virus could have escaped from the US military research lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland, during a press conference on Wednesday.
“The United States should respect science and facts, work as soon as possible with the World Health Organization, invite international experts to conduct traceability research in its country, and share research findings with the international community,” she said.
The scientific community believes that determining the origins of the pandemic is critical in order to better fight or even prevent the next one.
