Beijing: Tracing virus origin shouldn't be about blaming others
Xinhua
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A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday that tracing the origin of the COVID-19 virus should be aimed at preventing this kind of outbreak from happening again, not blaming others or even demanding compensation from others. 

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A staff member tests samples of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine at a vaccine production plant of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in Beijing, April 11, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

"There is no precedent in the world and no legal basis" to hold others accountable and demand compensation over the origin of a virus, spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.

"I want to emphasize that China was the first country to report the novel coronavirus outbreak, but it doesn't mean China was the origin of the virus," Geng said. 

The origin of COVID-19 is a matter of science, which should depend on scientists and medical experts to find out, but should not be politicized, he added. 

The spokesperson criticized some politicians for using the origin of the virus as a tool of political manipulation to attack other countries and urged the international community to focus on cooperation to fight the pandemic and stop blaming each other. 

Tracing the origin of the virus is a big scientific challenge and scientists across the world are doing research on it, Geng said, noting that there is no conclusion yet.