Politicising COVID-19 origins hampers investigations: Chinese embassy in US
China supports 'a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 found worldwide', says Chinese embassy
- Politicising the origins of COVID-19 will hamper investigations, says China's embassy in the United States.
- The development comes after US President Joe Biden ordered a review of intelligence about where the virus emerged.
- China supports 'a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 found worldwide', embassy says in remarks attributed to a spokesperson.
Politicising the origins of COVID-19 will hamper investigations, saidChina's embassy in the United States on Thursday. The development comes after US President Joe Biden ordered a review of intelligence about where the virus emerged.
Read more: WHO team in Wuhan to probe origins of coronavirus as China reports first death in months
China supports "a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 found worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive bases and biological laboratories all over the world," the embassy said in remarks attributed to a spokesperson, posted on its website.
Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden ordered aides to find answers to the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19, saying on Wednesday that US intelligence agencies are pursuing rival theories potentially including the possibility of a laboratory accident in China.
Read more: Joe Biden orders US intelligence to review origins of coronavirus as Wuhan lab leak theory debated
Intelligence agencies are considering two likely scenarios but still lack strong confidence in their conclusions and are hotly debating which is more probable, Biden said.
The conclusions were detailed in a report to Biden, who asked his team in March to detail whether the novel coronavirus "emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident," according to the president's written statement.