Since the first days of the emergence of the new coronavirus, the exchange of accusations between the United States and China about the origin of the disease has not stopped.

In a fresh standoff between the two countries, Beijing on Monday strongly opposed a hypothesis put forward by the US Department of Energy, according to which Covid-19 was leaked after an accidental accident in a Chinese laboratory.

Distorts our image

He also felt that the new allegations would “tarnish” his image.

During his daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning urged people to stop waving this theory about a leak from the lab, stop slandering China, and stop politicizing research into the origin of the virus.

Experts from China and the World Health Organization, based on field visits to laboratories in Wuhan and in-depth conversations with researchers, have come to a reliable conclusion that a leak from the lab is unlikely, he said.

The statement came in response to a change in position by the US Department of Energy, which said it viewed the hypothesis of a virus leak from a laboratory in China with “low confidence”. The new intelligence report was revealed Sunday by the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The charges are still pending

Notably, three years after the pandemic broke out, killing nearly 7 million people worldwide and crippling the global economy, the origin of the virus is still unknown.

In February 2021, experts from the World Health Organization and Chinese scientists concluded that the virus was unlikely to have leaked after the accident at the Chinese Institute of Virology in Wuhan and favored a hypothesis about the natural origin of the virus and its spread. Humans through an intermediate animal.

However, the hypothesis of lab damage and accidental leakage has resurfaced, particularly in the US, where the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI was leaning towards it.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that, at this time, there is no concrete answer from the intelligence agencies on the issue.

Additionally, in a sign that the debate is far from over in the US, 4 US intelligence agencies support the hypothesis of a natural origin of Covid, while two are still hesitant.

Read more