Beijing blames US for Covid pandemic in astonishing new report

China has sensationally claimed that America - not Beijing - could be the true origin of the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed millions around the globe.

In a bombshell white paper published Wednesday, the Chinese State Council Information Office put forward the theory that the virus, which has claimed 1.2 million lives in the US and more than 7 million worldwide, may have actually emerged on American soil.

The extraordinary accusation appears to be a direct response to renewed scrutiny from the Trump campaign, which has doubled down on long-standing claims that Covid-19 leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) - a facility known to have conducted experiments on coronaviruses.

The white paper, laced with strong rhetoric, slams Washington for politicising the pandemic's origins and attempting to deflect attention from its own early failures.

Chinese officials wrote: "The US government, instead of facing squarely its failure in response to Covid-19 and reflecting on its shortcomings, has tried to shift the blame and divert people's attention by shamelessly politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing.

"A thorough and in-depth investigation into the origins of the virus should be conducted in the United States. The United States should respond to the reasonable concern of the international community, and give a responsible answer to the world."

The Chinese report further claims: "Substantial evidence suggested the COVID-19 might have emerged in the United States earlier than its officially-claimed timeline, and earlier than the outbreak in China."

This latest salvo from Beijing comes as US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, continue to back the theory that a lab leak in Wuhan remains a strong possibility. Despite initial dismissals of that theory as a conspiracy, American intelligence has since stated it cannot rule it out.

Meanwhile, many scientists maintain the virus likely jumped from animals to humans, a natural pathway supported by decades of virological evidence.

Nevertheless, China's white paper alleges that the US "should not continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb" and insists it should answer questions raised by the international community.

Among the most eye-catching claims in the report is an assertion that the US knowingly downplayed its own outbreak early in 2020. "The US was aware that an epidemic of a novel coronavirus was spreading quickly within its borders," it states, adding that the Trump administration "compared Covid-19 to the flu" and repeatedly said "it would disappear automatically one day."

The report further argues: "The US has made China the primary scapegoat for its own mismanaged Covid-19 response. The US government's indifference and delayed actions wasted the precious time China had secured for the global fight against the pandemic."

It goes on to cite a CDC study suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were found in 106 out of 7,389 blood samples collected in nine US states between December 2019 and January 2020 - implying that the virus was already circulating in America before China reported its first official cases.

The white paper also references a separate NIH study, claiming that coronavirus antibodies were present in blood samples collected across all 50 US states by March 2020. However, health experts point out that antibody tests can cross-react with other coronaviruses - such as those that cause the common cold - and may not provide definitive proof of early transmission.

Notably absent from the report is any reference to the virus' genetic sequencing, which was first conducted in Wuhan and traced back to patients linked to the Huanan Seafood Market and Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital.

Beijing also highlights a list of lab safety incidents in the US, alleging around 1,500 "serious laboratory incidents involving coronaviruses and other highly dangerous pathogens." However, the vast majority were minor incidents such as broken vials, and only 15 people were infected in total.

The report closes with a strongly worded message: "The US should cease from shifting blame and evading responsibility, stop finding external excuses for its internal malaise, and genuinely reflect on and overhaul its public health policies.

"The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct."