China’s National Health Commission (NHC) has accused the United States of politicizing the search for COVID-19’s origins. On Wednesday, an NHC spokesperson responded to a new article on the White House website, which again pointed fingers at a research lab in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, as the supposed source of the pandemic.
“The so-called ‘reasons’ cited in the article have no scientific foundation, and the so-called ‘evidence’ is entirely fabricated,” the spokesperson said. “The U.S. has repeatedly framed and vilified China over the origins of the virus, showing a malicious intent to politicize a scientific issue. Such tactics have been discredited by the global scientific community.”
The spokesperson emphasized that using the pandemic to try to contain China will not succeed. They also pointed out that growing evidence suggests COVID-19 may have emerged in the United States even earlier than thought. “The next phase of origin-tracing should take place in the U.S.,” the spokesperson added.
“We call on the U.S. to stop its smear campaign against China, seriously reflect on its own handling of the pandemic, and provide a responsible explanation to the international community,” the spokesperson urged.
