A Chinese government spokesman has tried to blame the US army for the deadly coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization this week.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian claimed Thursday that the US military might have brought the COVID-19 virus to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged in December.

“When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” Zhao tweeted in English in one of a series of tweets critical of the US.

The comments appear to be retaliation in a war of words with Washington. Chinese government officials bristled when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus,” and decried when President Trump called it a “foreign virus” that started “in China.”

The contagious illness has now infected more than 125,000 people in at least 118 countries and territories, according to figures from the WHO Thursday afternoon.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.