BEIJING, March 1. /TASS/. Beijing strongly opposes any kind of political manipulation related to the issue of the origin of COVID-19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing on Wednesday.

"China strongly opposes attempts to carry out any kind of political manipulation under the pretext of looking for the source of the coronavirus," she pointed out, commenting on FBI Director Christopher Wray’s remark that the US believed a leak from a laboratory in China’s Wuhan likely caused the the coronavirus pandemic.

Mao Ning noted that the intelligence service’s involvement in scientific issues in itself meant a politicization of the issue. "We urge the United States to respect science and facts and stop politicizing the issue of the origin of COVID-19," the Chinese diplomat added.

She also said that the US should stop trying to erode the international community’s unity in the fight against the pandemic or impede global scientific cooperation in tracking the origin of the coronavirus.

Wray said on Tuesday that the FBI believed the coronavirus pandemic had likely been triggered by a leak from a lab controlled by the Chinese authorities. The FBI chief also claimed that the Chinese government was doing everything possible to hinder efforts by the US and its partners to establish the cause of the pandemic.