China has reacted sharply after the director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation officially unveiled for the first time the agency has assessed that the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic are most likely a potential laboratory incident in Wuhan, China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning raised objections to the FBI's assessment at a news conference on Wednesday.
She said the experts of the joint mission of China and the World Health Organization have reached a science-based, authoritative conclusion that a laboratory origin of the pandemic was considered "extremely unlikely."
She added that the conclusion "has received extensive recognition from the international community and the science community."
Mao said, "Putting the intelligence community in charge for a matter of science is a clear sign that the issue has been politicized." She also said that the conclusions made by the FBI have "little, if any, credibility."
The spokesperson stressed that "the US will not succeed in discrediting China by rehashing the 'lab leak' theory," but will only hurt its own reputation.