The UK's BBC broadcaster has issued a statement rejecting accusations of "ideological bias" and "fake" reporting on COVID-19 made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry earlier in the day.
"We stand by our accurate and fair reporting of events in China and totally reject these unfounded accusations of fake news or ideological bias", the statement read.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated earlier that it had lodged a complaint with the British Broadcasting Corporation over "fake news" coverage of COVID-19, calling on the broadcaster to apologise.
The statement was issued after the British regulator Ofcom earlier in the day revoked the licence of China's English-language news network CGTN, citing its "state-backed ownership structure".
China criticised the decision, stressing that it reserves the right to take further measures against the BBC.
Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations made by some American and British media outlets that the initial outbreak was caused by a leak from a secretive lab in Wuhan, also stressing that China did not try to cover up the pandemic in the very beginning.
Currently, a World Health Organisation team is working in Wuhan collecting data about the virus and working with Chinese scientists to investigate the origins of COVID-19.
