FBI: China lab leak ‘probably’ caused covid

WASHINGTON — The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has determined that a leak from a lab in Wuhan, China “probably” caused the Covid-19 pandemic, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“The FBI has held for some time that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential laboratory incident in Wuhan,” Wray told Fox News on Tuesday.

His comments follow a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that the US Department of Energy assessed with “low confidence” that the pandemic stemmed from an accidental lab leak in China.

Four other American agencies, along with a national intelligence body, still think the pandemic was likely the result of natural transmission, and two are undecided which diary reported.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday the US government still has not reached a definitive conclusion and consensus on the origins of the pandemic.

Wray said he couldn’t share many details of the agency’s assessment because they were classified.

He accused the Chinese government of “doing its best to try to thwart and cover up efforts by the United States and others” to learn more about the origins of the pandemic.

Asked about the Energy Ministry’s report at a news briefing on Monday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said a joint WHO-China mission had already found the lab leak theory to be “extremely unlikely”.

“Covid-19 ancestry tracing is a scientific matter and should not be politicized. China has supported and actively participates in international traceability,” she said.

“Certain parties should stop rehashing the ‘Lab Leak’ narrative, stop slandering China, and stop politicizing ancestry tracking.”

Regardless of the differing conclusions, the lack of quick access to the lab and Wuhan at the start of the pandemic by independent observers will continue to fuel doubts about the origins of the virus.

Wray’s claim comes at a crucial time in Sino-US relations. The two countries have clashed over issues of Taiwan, technology and surveillance, and China’s potential support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.