Official statements or documents from the US government

CIA, Under John Ratcliffe, Concludes Covid-19 Likely From Lab Leak; China's Mao Ning Calls It 'Highly Unlikely'

Jan 27, 2025, 02:11 PM

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory incident, according to a newly declassified report. This assessment, which was completed during the Biden administration and released by the newly appointed CIA Director John Ratcliffe, suggests a lab origin is more likely than a natural origin, though the agency expresses 'low confidence' in this conclusion. The report does not present new intelligence but is based on reevaluations of existing data on the virus's spread, its scientific properties, and the conditions in Chinese virology labs. China has strongly rejected this theory, calling it baseless and emphasizing the need for a scientific approach to determine the virus's origins. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that the lab leak hypothesis is 'highly unlikely' and reiterated the findings of a 2021 joint China-WHO investigation, which concluded similarly. The debate over the origins of Covid-19 continues to be politically charged, with significant implications for international relations and public health policy.