China says WHO has said no evidence coronavirus was made in a lab

BEIJING: China's foreign ministry said on Thursday the World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that the coronavirus that has infected more than 2 million people globally was made in a lab.

Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remark in response to a question about accusations the coronavirus originated in a lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the epidemic first emerged in late 2019.

Zhao told reporters during a daily briefing in Beijing that the World Health Organization's officials "have said multiple times there is no evidence the new coronavirus was created in a laboratory."


U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his government is trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from a lab in Wuhan, China, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Beijing "needs to come clean" on what they know.

Zhao did not directly address Trump's comments.