U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he is confident the COVID-19-causing coronavirus originated from an infectious diseases lab in China, adding he could impose tariffs as a punishment for the country's lackluster response that allowed its global spread.
"Yes, I have," Trump told reporters when he was asked whether he has seen any evidence that gives him a "high degree of confidence" that the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is located in the city where the virus was first detected late last year.
But the president declined to explain why he has come to that conclusion. "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that," he said.
U.S. intelligence authorities said earlier in the day that they concur with the wide scientific consensus that the new virus was "not manmade or genetically modified" but they will continue to examine "whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."
Trump, who is seeing the U.S. economy devastated by the virus-triggered shutdown ahead of the November election, has grown critical of China for failing to take appropriate steps to stop the spread of the virus that has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide.
He reiterated to reporters on Thursday that the virus "should have never been allowed to escape China" and that "they should have stopped it at the source."
In a separate press availability, Trump said that the virus could have been intentionally allowed to spread and the outcome of an investigation could be made public soon.
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"We're finding out how it came in different forms...You've heard three or four different concepts as to how it came out. We should have the answer to that in the not-too-distant future," he said.
Asked how China should pay the price for its alleged misconduct, Trump said "we can do it with tariffs" or "other ways even beyond that."
The Wuhan Institute of Virology is located about 30 kilometers from a seafood market where the virus is believed to have started its rapid spread.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday denied rumors that the lab accidentally released the virus derived from bats, citing a researcher who stressed that the institute "strictly follows biosafety procedures."
The researcher was also quoted as saying that the institute does not have the capability to design and synthesize such a virus.
"I'd like to emphasize that tracing the origin of the virus is a complex matter of science, which should be studied by scientists and professionals," the spokesman said.
"We urge American politicians to stop shifting the blame to China and diverting the attention of the international community. They should be focusing on containing the epidemics at home," he added.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday complained that the world has not gained access to the institution in the central Chinese city.
He also pointed to "multiple labs" that are believed be conducting work on "contagious pathogens inside of China today" and that the United States does not know "if they are operating at a level of security to prevent (a pandemic) from happening again."
