The French government has said there was no evidence of a link between the new coronavirus and the work of the P4 research laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

"We would like to make it clear that there is to this day no factual evidence corroborating the information recently circulating in the United States press that establishes a link between the origins of COVID-19 and the work of the P4 laboratory of Wuhan, China," an official at President Emmanuel Macron's office said.

The broad scientific consensus holds that SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the coronavirus, originated in bats.

Read more: WHO's antibody test warning, UK's PPE shortage: COVID-19 daily bulletin

In 2004, France signed an agreement with China to establish a research lab on infectious diseases of biosafety level 4, the highest level, in Wuhan, according to a French decree signed by then-foreign minister Michel Barnier.

The institute is home to the China Centre for Virus Culture Collection, the largest virus bank in Asia which preserves more than 1,500 strains, according to its website.

The 300-million-yuan ($42 million) lab was completed in 2015, and opened in 2018, with the founder of a French bioindustrial firm, Alain Merieux, acting as a consultant in its construction.

Accusations fly

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his government was attempting to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from a lab in Wuhan, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that Beijing "needs to come clean".

As far back as February, the Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed rumors that the virus was artificially synthesized at one of its laboratories.

Yuan Zhiming, a researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory says that he understands that there will be rumours because of the location of the facility. However he hit out at those trying to mislead the public.

"People can't help but make associations, which I think is understandable, but it's bad when some are deliberately trying to mislead people. US senator Tom Cotton said earlier that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

"The Washington Post and several other outlets wrote about this virus coming from Wuhan lab. They have no evidence or knowledge. This is entirely based on speculation."

Yuan Zhiming also stated that scientific reports on the disease countered the claim that COVID-19 was man-made: "From my personal understanding of virology, there is no evidence to prove that a virus has artificial or synthetic origins."

General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence indicated that the coronavirus likely occurred naturally, as opposed to being created in a laboratory in China.

On Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected allegations that the Wuhan lab was responsible for the outbreak, stating that "a discerning person will understand at a glance that the purpose is to create confusion, divert public attention, and shirk their responsibility."

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