US envoy says, China should be honest on Covid origin

• Outbreak’s genesis “was about science and should not be politicized.” says the Chinese foreign ministry.
• The energy department previously stated that it was unsure how the infection arose.
• Mao Ning urged US investigators to “stop disparaging China and stop politicizing origins-tracing.”

The United States ambassador to China has urged the country to be “more honest” about the origins of the Covid-19 virus.

His remarks came a day after US media reported that a federal agency had determined that the epidemic was most likely caused by a laboratory leak in Wuhan.

China’s foreign ministry blasted back saying the global outbreak’s genesis “was about science and should not be politicized”.

Since the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon earlier this month, relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns told a US Chamber of Commerce event on Monday that China needs to “be more honest about what happened three years ago in Wuhan with the origin of the Covid-19 crisis”.

Low confidence

The US Department of Energy decided in a classified intelligence analysis with “low confidence” that the virus was accidentally leaked by a laboratory.

The energy department previously stated that it was unsure how the infection arose.

Different US government agencies have reached different conclusions, with varied degrees of certainty in their results. In 2021, the FBI found with “moderate confidence” that the virus escaped from a lab.

Additional research indicates that it transitioned from animals to humans at Wuhan’s Huanan seafood and wildlife market.

The US Department of Energy decided in a classified intelligence analysis with “low confidence” that the virus was accidently leaked by a laboratory, according to US media on Sunday.

The energy department previously stated that it was unsure how the infection arose.

“There has not been a definitive conclusion and consensus in the US government on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he told reporters when asked about the energy department’s reported determination.

On Monday, a representative for China’s foreign ministry dismissed the lab leak idea once more.

Mao Ning urged US investigators to “stop disparaging China and stop politicizing origins-tracing”.

Once it was revealed that the US energy department had settled on the lab leak explanation, Republican Senator Tom Cotton tweeted “being proven right doesn’t matter”.

“What matters is holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable so this doesn’t happen again.”

Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton told he was “not entirely surprised” by the energy department’s reported conclusion.

“The Chinese have mishandled Covid at every step of the way, [and] are trying to sweep it under the rug,” he said.

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