China released a white paper stating that there is “substantial evidence” suggesting COVID-19 may have emerged in the United States before the outbreak in China. It also describes the lab leak theory as “extremely unlikely.” These accusations came after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

A report from the New York Post stated the Chinese accusations against the United States of being the original source of COVID-19 and claimed Washington is politicising the virus’s origin to shift blame onto China.

China responded by releasing a white paper that rejected the lab leak theory and suggested COVID-19 may have originated in the US before the Wuhan outbreak.

Chinese officials said, “The US government, instead of facing squarely its failure in response to COVID-19 and reflecting on its shortcomings, has tried to shift the blame and divert people’s attention by shamelessly politicising SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing.”

China claimed it had “substantial evidence,” though it did not specify the details. Officials alleged the virus had been circulating in the US before it was officially detected. They also accused the US of politicising the issue and harming international cooperation over tracing the origin.

These remarks followed updates earlier this month on the White House’s COVID-19 webpage. The updates supported the idea that a lab-related incident, possibly involving gain-of-function research, was the most likely origin of the virus. 

This aligns with findings from the CIA, the FBI, a House committee and other agencies. Several US agencies have leaned toward the lab leak theory but noted that they hold this belief with “low confidence.”

In contrast, China referred to a previous joint study with the World Health Organisation. The study concluded that COVID-19 most likely came from bats and spread to humans through an intermediate animal host.

The Chinese white paper also criticised the US pandemic response. It claimed that the US weakened global efforts to fight the virus and disrupted international public health systems. China has faced international scrutiny over its early handling of the pandemic. It now argues that the US must answer “numerous questions over its conduct” and stop ignoring global concerns.