China Accuses US of COVID Origin, Politicizing Pandemic

China has released a white paper asserting that COVID-19 may have originated in the United States, in response to renewed claims by the Trump administration that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. The document accuses the U.S. of politicizing the origins of the pandemic and evading responsibility for its own handling of the outbreak, while also criticizing updates to the U.S. COVID website that blame China and U.S. health officials. China maintains that it cooperated with the World Health Organization and the international community and points to a joint WHO-China study that found a lab leak 'extremely unlikely.' Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have stated that both lab and natural origins remain plausible, with 'low confidence' in either scenario. The Chinese white paper calls for further origin-tracing work to focus on the U.S., citing what it claims is 'substantial evidence' of earlier cases there. The ongoing debate highlights the lack of consensus and continued politicization surrounding the origins of COVID-19.