BEIJING — China believes that the joint research carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO) and China will play a positive role in promoting global cooperation in COVID-19 origin tracing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on March 30.

The spokesperson made the remarks after WHO released a report earlier on March 30 on the joint research with China on the global tracing of COVID-19 origins.

China commends the Chinese and international experts who have taken part in this joint study for their commitment to science, tireless industry and professionalism, said the spokesperson.

He said that China has always been a supporter of global scientific research on the source of the virus and its transmission routes. China co-sponsored the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution on COVID-19 and supports WHO-led cooperation on zoonotic source research among member states.

Despite the daunting task of domestic prevention and control, China twice invited WHO experts in for origin-tracing, said the spokesperson, adding that Chinese experts and international experts from the WHO and ten countries formed a joint team and conducted joint research for 28 days in Wuhan from Jan 14 to Feb 10 this year.

The Chinese side offered necessary facilitation for the team's work, fully demonstrating its openness, transparency and responsible attitude.

The spokesperson said that the study of origins is a matter of science, which should be jointly conducted by scientists all over the world, and to politicize this issue will only severely hinder global cooperation in the study of origins, jeopardize anti-pandemic cooperation, and cost more lives, which runs counter to the international community's aspiration.

The study of origins is also a global mission that should be conducted in multiple countries and localities, and China believes the joint WHO-China study will effectively stimulate global cooperation in origin-tracing, he added.