China has accused the United States of politicizing scientific research after the US Department of Energy released a report stating that the COVID-19 pandemic likely occurred due to a lab leak. Beijing rejected the report and accused the US of “smearing” and politicizing efforts to trace the virus’ origins as intelligence agencies remain divided on the issue.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning dismissed reports that the COVID-19 pandemic was triggered by a pathogen escaping from a Chinese lab and said efforts to promote the theory over the idea that the virus emerged naturally are grounded in politics, not science. She also referred to the World Health Organization’s investigation that determined it was “extremely unlikely” COVID-19 originated in a lab. The accusations come amidst increasing tensions between the two global powers as both countries continue to engage in a war of words regarding the pandemic’s origin.
The investigation conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) into the origins of Covid-19 was not without controversy, and its findings were not universally accepted. China was accused of impeding the investigation by limiting access to raw data, and even the WHO’s director-general acknowledged that the investigation was not comprehensive enough.
Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, has accused the United States of politicizing the efforts to trace the origins of Covid-19 by repeating the “lab leak” theory to discredit China. According to her, the U.S. is rehashing this narrative to smear China, rather than pursuing scientific research to determine the origin of the pandemic.
News Peg
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Energy scientists have concluded that Covid-19 pandemic likely originated from an accidental laboratory leak in China. However, their determination has a “low confidence” level, indicating that the evidence used to reach that conclusion was not robust enough. It is not clear what caused the agency to change its position, but the majority of scientists believe that the virus emerged naturally from animals, and there is strong scientific evidence to support this theory.
The report has sparked controversy, with China accusing the US of politicizing origin-tracing efforts and of “smearing” China. The lab leak hypothesis, which has been rejected by most scientists, is seen as feasible by some. The investigation into the virus’s origins is ongoing, and it remains to be seen what evidence will ultimately be found.
Contra
The origins of the Covid-19 pandemic remain a topic of intense debate and uncertainty within the U.S. intelligence community. The Department of Energy is one of the intelligence agencies working to determine the pandemic’s origins and has taken a minority position by suggesting that the virus most likely emerged from an unintentional laboratory leak in China. However, the agency’s conclusion has not swayed any of the other intelligence agencies it reportedly shared its information with. While the FBI is the only other agency supporting the lab leak theory, it arrived at its conclusion for different reasons than the Energy Department. Meanwhile, four other unidentified agencies and the National Intelligence Council believe with “low confidence” that the virus emerged naturally, while analysts at two other agencies have yet to agree on a single explanation for the pandemic’s origins.
What we don’t know
The report from The Wall Street Journal has once again raised tensions surrounding the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, adding to existing geopolitical friction between the US and China. While most scientists agree that the virus likely emerged through zoonotic transmission, some consider a lab leak as a feasible possibility, though evidence supporting the theory remains limited. The issue has become highly politicized and complicated by a lack of transparency from China, hindering efforts to reach a definitive conclusion. The WHO-led investigation faced difficulties and was heavily criticized, with the next phase of the study being quietly shelved due to political obstacles. The ongoing political tensions make it unlikely that the issue will be resolved in the near future.
