Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang File Photo: VCG

Some people advocating the launch of an independent investigation into how China dealt with the epidemic in its early stages are manipulating the politics, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, noting that the question of where the virus has originated should be left to scientists. 

During a routine  press conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang emphasized that China is the first country that reported the outbreak, but that doesn't mean China is where the virus had originated. The question of the virus' origin is a scientific question, and should be dealt with by scientists and professionals, he said. 

Some politicians are politically manipulating the origin of the virus to attack and discredit other countries. This goes against the will of the people, and their plot will not succeed, Geng said.

While the origin of the virus remains a mystery, some forces are deliberately hyping that the virus was from China and trying to use China as a scapegoat, which is totally unreasonable, Chinese experts said. 

The international community has witnessed the contributions that China has made during the anti-epidemic fight. Since the outbreak, China reported the epidemic to the world at the earliest possible time, promptly shared the virus gene sequence, and worked with other countries in an open, transparent and responsible manner. 

Under such circumstances, advocating a so-called investigation does not fit the current atmosphere of the international community joining hands to fight the epidemic. Using this opportunity to manipulate politics goes against the will of the people, Geng said. 

The FM spokesperson said China will continue to fight together with the international community against the pandemic and offer help to other countries within its capabilities. 

The current urgent task is to focus on international cooperation against the epidemic, rather than blaming each other, Geng noted.