Zhao Lijian, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, urged Washington to follow Beijing’s example and open the door to a ‘comprehensive, transparent and evidence-based’ inquiry to address international concerns about the current pandemic and help prevent future pandemics.

He deplored the insistence by the United States and other powers to point the finger at China for the hypothetical escape of the virus from the Wuhan biosafety laboratory, even though the WHO study earlier this year found that thesis highly unlikely.

‘This shows that they are not interested in facts and truth, nor are they interested in a serious, science-based investigation. Their goal is to use the pandemic to maintain stigmatization and political manipulation,’ he noted.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned that such a position is counterproductive, and will obstruct global efforts to overcome the health crisis.

He also demanded the United States to explain what it hides behind over 200 incidents in its scientific facilities, including the one at Fort Detrick in July 2019, after assuring that China set the example in tracking how the virus emerged, evolved and passed to humans.

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