China distances from official's tweet blaming US Army for getting coronavirus to Wuhan

China on Friday distanced itself from a tweet put out by one of its officials alleging that the US Army may have brought the deadly coronavirus to Wuhan, saying the origin of the outbreak required scientific assessment, amid a war of words between Washington and Beijing over the source of COVID-19.

China's official media on Thursday reported that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield reportedly acknowledged some flu patients in America may have been misdiagnosed and actually had coronavirus. Referring to Redfiled's remarks, Zhao Lijian, who until recently was China's Deputy Ambassador to Pakistan, alleged in his tweet that the US Army might have brought COVID-19 to Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus' outbreak in China.

"CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in the US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be the US army that brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!" Zhao tweeted on Thursday with a video of Redfield's comments.

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His tweet alleging US conspiracy for coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan sparked a furore on Twitter. "There are many different opinions about the source of the coronavirus among the international community. We believe this is a matter of science and required professional and scientific assessment," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters here on Friday while answering questions on Zhao's tweet.

Asked whether it was also the Chinese government's view which has lodged a protest to the US over the issue, Geng said: "what I said represents the Chinese government's attitude". When asked whether the media should take Zhao's tweet as an official position of the Chinese government and the Foreign Ministry as he is one of its spokesmen, Geng replied: "I think you may want to ask certain US officials, do they speak on behalf of the US government when they attacked and smeared China recently".

Elaborating on China's stand, Geng said, "we noted recently there are some discussions about COVID-19 virus. Certain US congressmen, senior officials made untrue and irresponsible remarks on the issue to attack China". "We firmly reject that. In fact the international community including US have a different opinion about the source of the virus. But China always believes that this is a matter of science which requires professional and scientific assessment," he said.

Known for his Twitter outbursts from the days of his Pakistan posting where he attacked critics of the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and interning of thousands of Uighur Muslims in what China terms as education camps, Zhao after his recent posting as Deputy Director-General of Information Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry turned his ire against the US highlighting racial tensions in America.

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He was the first Chinese diplomats to open an official account on Twitter and used the platform prolifically with an apparent backing of the Chinese government. Now, most of the Chinese diplomats, including Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong, have taken to Twitter to convey their policies and opinions.

The novel coronavirus which according to Chinese officials is the worst disaster faced by China in recent decades has resulted in 3,176 deaths with 80,813 infection cases in the country. Since the corona outbreak which came to light on December 31, several media reports attributed the source of the disease to an animal market in Wuhan which was subsequently shutdown.

On March 5, Zhao told a media briefing that the origin of the virus was yet to be determined, raising questions over reports that the virus had originated from the live animals' market in Wuhan. "It is yet undetermined where the virus originated. Wherever its origin may be, China and all the other affected countries are victims faced with the challenge in containing its spread," Zhao had said. China in recent weeks has sharply criticised US officials especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for terming the virus as "Wuhan virus" even after the WHO has officially named it COVID-19.

On Monday, Geng condemned Pompeo for branding the coronavirus as "Wuhan virus", terming his remarks as "despicable behaviour" and an attempt to stigmatise the Communist country. The virus has claimed 4,925 lives and infected 131,500 people across 116 countries and territories. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday characterised the COVID-19 outbreak as a "pandemic" and expressed deep concern over its "alarming levels" of "spread, severity, as well as inaction".

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