China on Monday slammed The United States' recent intelligence report on the origins of Covid and asked the country to stop such smear campaign.
The Chinese foreign ministry slammed the report and said tracing the origin of the coronavirus was a scientific issue and it should not be politicised, the South China Morning Post reported. “Relevant parties should stop stirring up the theory of laboratory leaks, stop smearing China, and stop politicising the origins of Covid,” SCMP reported quoting Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
SCMP quoted Mao saying, “Lab leaks are extremely unlikely is an authoritative scientific conclusion, made by Chinese and WHO experts after visiting laboratories in Wuhan and conducting in-depth exchanges with relevant researchers.”
The Chinese embassy also refuted the report and criticised the report was not scientific. The Chinese foreign ministry also questioned the use of intelligence mechanisms instead of scientists to arrive at such conclusions. “The use of intelligence agencies to trace the origins is in itself ironclad proof of politicisation,” the publication reported quoting the foreign ministry.
The US Energy Department has reportedly concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report stated that the shift of its earlier stand by the Energy Department is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office. With this, the Energy Department has joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had earlier concluded that the pandemic was likely the result of a lab leak in 2021.
According to the WSJ report, quoting sources who had read the classified report, the Energy Department has made the judgment with "low confidence."