China reiterated its opposition over political manipulation on the origins-tracing of the coronavirus on Wednesday, urging the United States to reflect on itself rather than shifting blame to others.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to recent US media reports claiming that the US Agency for International Development used US taxpayers' money to fund gain-of-function studies of the virus at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, which allegedly caused COVID-19 pandemic and led to the deaths of millions around the world.

China has made it clear many times that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has never engaged in gain-of-function studies of coronavirus and never designed, made, or leaked COVID-19, Guo stressed.

It is extremely unlikely that the pandemic was caused by a lab leak, and this is the authoritative conclusion reached by the experts of the World Health Organization-China joint mission, he said.

The conclusion is based on science following their field trips to the lab in Wuhan and in-depth communication with researchers, Guo said, adding that the conclusion has been widely acknowledged by the international community, including the scientific community.

Origins-tracing of COVID-19 is a matter of science, and any judgment on it should be made in a science-based spirit by scientists, he added.

zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn

?