Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday that the US military may have brought the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to Wuhan.

“CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals?” Zhao wrote on Twitter, “It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”

Currently, there’s no evidence to back his claim. But in a tweet shortly after, Zhao demanded to know how many of the 34 million infections and 20,000 deaths during the US’ latest flu season were actually related to COVID-19. He attached a video clip showing Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, responding to Rep. Harley Rouda's question during the US House Oversight Committee discussion on the novel coronavirus response.

Rouda asked, "So we could have some people in the United States dying for what appears to be influenza when in fact it could be the coronavirus?"

Redfield replied that "some cases have actually been diagnosed that way in the United States today."

Last month, according to a report by TV Asahi Corporation of Japan, the CDC suspected that among the American patients who were thought to have died of flu in the past few months, some may have actually died of COVID-19. 

Later, the report sparked speculation from some Chinese netizens that the virus might have been brought by US participants in the 2019 Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan last October.