China denounced a U.S. intelligence investigation on whether the new coronavirus emerged from nature or from a lab leak. The probe is driven by politics instead of science, a Chinese spokesperson said on Thursday.

"China's request to investigate Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina is in order to tell people with facts whether the 'lab leak' theory claimed by the U.S. is credible and whether it exists," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a regular press briefing. "It is also in order to eliminate U.S. political interference in tracing and create favorable conditions for scientific tracing."

The U.S. mobilized intelligence agencies, instead of scientific experts, to trace the origins of the coronavirus, which will only obstruct the development of origin-tracing for the international community, Wang added.

U.S. President Joe Biden in May directed the intelligence community to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and report back to him in 90 days. As the review ended on Tuesday, sources familiar with the issue said the new assessment didn't yield a definitive conclusion on whether the new coronavirus is a lab accident or natural emergence.