China says it's "extremely unlikely" COVID pandemic came from lab leak, as CIA now indicates

China said Monday it was "extremely unlikely" COVID-19 came from a laboratory, after the CIA said it believed the virus had more likely come from a lab rather than natural transmission.

"The conclusion that a laboratory leak is extremely unlikely was reached by the China-WHO joint expert team based on field visits to relevant laboratories in Wuhan," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

"This has been widely recognized by the international community and the scientific community," she added.