Holiday travelers wearing face masks are seen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Dec. 23, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to return to reason and rationality on the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and protect the lives and health of the American people through its own efforts and international cooperation, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to comments by the U.S. President's Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger alleging that coronavirus was leaked by a Chinese lab.

Hua said that almost all the top scientists and disease-control experts in the world, including those in the U.S., have publicly rejected the so-called allegation that the virus was made or leaded from a lab in Wuhan.

She urges the U.S. government to clarify whether Pottinger's comment represents his own position or that of the U.S. government, adding Pottinger should show the evidence immediately, if any credible evidence exists.

"Since some senior U.S. officials attach so much importance to the origin of virus, why has the U.S. side not invited the WHO to send experts to conduct field investigations?" asked Hua, adding that the U.S. media have already reported the relationship between the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2019 influenza season and the research base at Fort Detrick in the United States.

Hua asked why the U.S. has built more than 200 biological labs overseas, and why it doesn't invite international journalists to visit them.

Noting that a new wave of COVID-19 is raging worldwide, Hua said China is ready to further strengthen solidarity and fight against the epidemic with other countries.

"We hope that those U.S. officials can return to rationality and reason, face the reality, and protect the lives and health of the American people through its own efforts and international cooperation. If it believes itself to be a major country, it should consider behaving like one," Hua said. ■