China slams COVID lab-leak theory, accuses FBI of ‘politicizing’ issue

China on Wednesday strongly pushed back against the FBI’s claim that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated from a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory and urged the US to “respect science and facts.”

“By rehashing the lab-leak theory, the US will not succeed in discrediting China, and instead, it will only hurt its own credibility,” said China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in responding to remarks made by FBI Director Christopher Wray this week.

Mao further argued that the involvement of the bureau in this matter was evidence enough of...