China Says Pompeo Has No Evidence about Coronavirus Lab Leak

By Staff, Agencies

China on Wednesday hit back at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his claims that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, saying he "doesn't have any" evidence.

Pompeo said on Sunday that there was "enormous evidence" to show that the coronavirus originated in a lab in China, further fueling tensions with Beijing over its handling of the outbreak.

"I think this matter should be handed to scientists and medical professionals, and not polzticians, who lie for their own domestic political ends," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing.

"Mr. Pompeo repeatedly spoke up but he cannot present any evidence. How can he? Because he doesn't have any," she said.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in late December 2019, the coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million people worldwide, with at least 257,000 dead, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that a "mistake" in China was the cause of the coronavirus outbreak.

"My opinion is they made a mistake. They tried to cover it, they tried to put it out. It’s like a fire," Trump said. "You know, it’s really like trying to put out a fire. They couldn’t put out the fire."

Trump also said that he was confident that a coronavirus vaccine would be available by the end of the year.