The U.S. attempt to trace the origins of COVID-19 by its intelligence community is malicious and harmful, Liu Xianfa, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region, has said.

The summary released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States and the White House statement, both on Aug. 27, are stuffed with familiar "American flavors" of hegemony and bullying, Liu wrote in an article published by the Macao Daily Times.

Calling origins tracing of COVID-19 a complex issue of science, Liu said that it should and can only be undertaken by scientists around the world through joint research.

"In fact, most scientists around the world are endorsing a natural origins theory for COVID-19," he wrote. "The science-based origins tracing in China also concluded that the introduction of the coronavirus through a laboratory incident was extremely unlikely."

China, like other countries, is a victim of the pandemic, Liu said, acknowledging China's continuous efforts to support science-based origins tracing.

Earlier this year, experts of the World Health Organization (WHO) visited China for origins tracing research as part of the health agency's global origins tracing endeavor. "China upholds the principles of openness, transparency, science and cooperation, fully supports the work of the experts, and sets an example for the world," wrote Liu.

Liu expressed concerns that COVID-19 origins tracing by the U.S. intelligence community is "poisoning" the atmosphere for the international cooperation in fighting the disease.

"The international community needs cooperation in combating the virus more than ever," he said. "Nevertheless, the United States, turning a blind eye to the tragedy caused by the pandemic, is still obsessed with political manipulation on the origins tracing."

"Meanwhile, it also intimidates the WHO, silences experts and scholars, and creates a 'chilling effect,' seriously hampering international cooperation in fighting the pandemic," said the commissioner.