State Department Says Biden and Senior Officials Have ‘Repeatedly’ Probed China on Origins of COVID

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price holds a press briefing on Afghanistan at the State Department in Washington, on Aug. 16, 2021. Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The State Department said on Feb. 27 that President Joe Biden has repeatedly raised the need for Beijing to address the origins of COVID-19 with Chinese President Xi Jinping, following leaked reports that a lab leak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 is the most likely origin of the global pandemic.

According to State Department Spokesman Ned Price, the president and his top officials have pressed Beijing to disclose more information and allow international teams to conduct unhindered investigations into the origins of the virus.