The coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million people worldwide, with at least 247,000 dead. The United States accounts for almost one-third of the world-affirmed cases and more than a quarter of deaths.

Pompeo’s comments followed US President Donald Trump’s claims Thursday that he had seen evidence giving him a “high degree of confidence” the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. Trump refused to provide details to back up the allegation.

Scientists in China and the West have pointed to research indicating that the virus probably originated in bats and jumped to humans from an intermediate host – just like the cousin that caused the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence as well said it in a statement Thursday, “The intelligence community also joins the big scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified.”
Did Xi Jinping know about the coronavirus outbreak earlier than first suggested?
Asked Sunday about that conclusion, Pompeo said he has “no reason to disbelieve” the intelligence community, despite comments earlier in the same interview that “the best experts so far seem to think it was man-made. no reason not to believe it At this point. “

Chinese officials and state media have repeatedly emphasized that there has been no conclusion about the exact origin of the virus, while pushing its own unsubstantiated allegations that it does not originate in China. In March, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, promoted a conspiracy theory on Twitter that the virus originated in the United States and was brought to China by the US military.
Beijing’s ire
So far, Chinese authorities and state media have largely failed to name Trump directly in his coverage of the spat. Instead, much of Beijing’s ire has been directed at Pompeo – and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who has no current position in the administration.

Last week, the state broadcaster CGTN accused pompeo of turning “the back on humanity by spreading a political virus.” The Chinese communist Party’s official speech, People’s Daily, also said in an editorial that Pompeo’s rhetoric will provide the United States with a “colossal moral deficit.”