TV news report on Wuhan lab leak theory is 'total political farce': FM

An official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry has slammed a news report that US intelligence agencies are scouring reams of genetic data from a Wuhan lab in the COVID-19 origins hunt, saying that such action was a "total political farce".

CNN, citing unnamed sources, reported last week that US intelligence agencies are scouring reams of genetic data from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which the report said could be key to uncovering the origins of the coronavirus.

The Foreign Ministry official told China Daily that such an action from the US is not science-based, objective or serious.

The official said China has reiterated on many occasions that origin tracing of the COVID-19 virus is a complex scientific issue, and the effort should be based on global horizons and jointly conducted by global scientists.

"However, what we see is the US, in disregard of science and facts, is obsessed with political manipulation, advocating intelligence-led origins study and hyping up the "lab leak theory", which has been deemed as highly unlikely in the report by the joint expert team of China and the World Health Organization," the official said.

The official said so far none of the workers and postgraduate students from the Wuhan lab has contracted COVID-19, and the action from the US can only give rise to suspicions as to whether they are in a race against time to make up the so-called proof.

The official called on the US side to answer doubts from international experts over the Fort Detrick bio lab and the US's over 200 overseas bio labs, saying the US should not be a blind spot in global origin tracing of the virus.

The official also noted that the political manipulation over origin tracing of the virus has faced objections from the international community, with 76 countries having voiced opposition to politicizing origins tracing and supporting the joint China-WHO study report via sending letters to the WHO director-general, issuing statements or sending diplomatic notes.

"It shows that clear-eyed people over the world can tell right and wrong. The US should listen to these objective and impartial voices," the official said.