The statements and fact sheet released by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the US State Department website were the "final madness" of "Mr Liar," a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

In the statement, Pompeo claimed the virus was leaked by the Wuhan Institute of Virology and accused China of obstructing virus tracing and promoting false propaganda.

Chinese FM spokesperson Hua Chunying said the statement and fact sheet were full of conspiracy theories and lies.

(File photo: CFP)

"The so-called 'fact sheet' is also another lie sheet created by the US, fully reflecting the attitude of relevant US politicians to disregard public safety for their own interests, ignore life, violate science, indulge in propagating conspiracy theories and spread political viruses," Hua said.

"It is also the final madness of Mr Liar Pompeo."

Hua said Pompeo's claim was totally untrue that the Chinese government obstructed virus tracing and promoted false propaganda.

She mentioned that China invited experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) to China in February and July last year to carry out international cooperation on virus tracing during a situation of heavy domestic epidemic prevention and control.

"Last week an international expert team of the WHO arrived in Wuhan and conducted joint scientific research with Chinese scientists on the origin-tracing of the novel coronavirus," Hua said.

Certain politicians in the US have politicized basic epidemic prevention measures, such as whether to wear masks, Hua said, and spread false information about the epidemic on public occasions such as with the media, deliberately downplaying the epidemic for a long time and misleading the public.

The claim that the virus came from the laboratory and the secret military background of the Wuhan Institute of Virology had no scientific and factual basis, Hua said.

"The views and information in this so-called 'fact sheet' are contradictory, full of errors and omissions, and are simply untenable," Hua said.

"Almost all top scientists and disease control experts in the world, including top disease control experts in the US, have publicly denied them."

Hua stressed that Chinese scientists were interviewed by the media on many occasions and the US media had visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, "introducing relevant management and research from a professional perspective."

"The US government has ignored these real facts, just showing that in the eyes of certain US politicians, lies can also become facts as long as they can attack and discredit China," Hua said.

Hua stressed the US side should take concrete actions to answer the questions of the international community.

"If the US side respects the facts, please open up its research base at Fort Detrick and disclose more facts on the more than 200 biological laboratories overseas, and ask WHO experts to go to the US to conduct virus tracing," Hua said.

"I hope that certain politicians in the US will respect science, show a minimum of conscience, stop engaging in dumping the blame and political game tricks, provide a good environment for international virus tracing cooperation and international anti-epidemic cooperation," Hua said.

"This is what needs to be done most now."

(Compiled by Zhang Jian)