A spokesman for the Chinese government on Thursday has accused that the coronavirus was brought to the city of Wuhan by the U.S. military.
A conspiracy theory, which has recently gained popularity in China, suggests the virus was brought to the country in 2019 by U.S. athletes participating in the Military World Games that were held in Wuhan.
In a strongly worded tweet, written in English on his verified Twitter account, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said it was the United States that lacked transparency.
“When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” Zhao wrote.
Earlier on Thursday, Zhao’s fellow Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang criticized US officials for “immoral and irresponsible” comments that blamed Beijing’s response to the coronavirus for worsening the global impact of the pandemic.
However, several Republican lawmakers have referred to the illness as the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan virus.”