China first to conduct joint study of COVID-19 origins with WHO: expert

File photo shows the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China is the first country to conduct a joint study on the origins of COVID-19 with the World Health Organization (WHO), a senior Chinese expert said on Wednesday.

The history of infectious diseases tells us that it generally takes a long time to identify the origin of a new infectious disease and have the findings accepted worldwide, said Liang Wannian, the team leader from the Chinese side of the WHO-China team studying the origins of COVID-19.

Speaking at a press briefing from the Chinese experts participating in the joint study, Liang noted that the place a virus is first reported is not necessarily the originating point of the virus.