China is accusing the U.S. of pushing a theory that the coronavirus was developed and let loose by a laboratory in Wuhan.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday that the Trump administration is attempting to "deflect attention and shift the blame to others."
A day earlier, the spokesman told a reporter that China's position on the matter is clear: Scientists have stated there is no evidence the coronavirus could have been made in a lab. That same spokesman said in March that the virus may have come from the U.S. Army.
While information about where the coronavirus originated is still being investigated, experts have said that the virus's genome rules provide proof that it couldn't be made by humans. The leading theory is that the virus originated at an animal market in Wuhan.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it's unclear if the theory about the lab is true. He said, "The mere fact that we don’t know the answers — that China hasn’t shared the answers — I think is very, very telling."
Pompeo urged China to let outside experts visit the lab in Wuhan "so that we can determine precisely where this virus began."
Additional reporting by Calvin Woodward of the Associated Press.
Contains footage fromCNN.
