2nd LD-Writethru: China slams U.S. for politicizing COVID-19 origins tracing again

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Wednesday condemned the United States for smearing China again with an article on tracing COVID-19 origins, published on the White House website, calling it a move to politicize scientific issues.

The NHC spokesperson said in a statement that, like previous U.S. allegations of "Wuhan lab leak," the so-called rationale of the article completely lacks scientific basis, and the "evidence" is entirely fabricated.

The United States' repeated attempts to blame and smear China on the issue of the origins of COVID-19 only expose its malicious intent to politicize scientific issues and use the pandemic as a tool to contain China, the spokesperson said.

As growing information and evidence show that the virus emerged in the United States at an even earlier date, the next phase of origin-tracing should be conducted in the United States, the spokesperson said.

"We urge the United States to immediately cease its baseless accusations and smear campaign against China, be accountable for its own problem, and provide a credible, responsible explanation to the international community and people worldwide," said the spokesperson. Enditem