Immediate COVID-19 probe premature: China

China's foreign ministry says it is premature to immediately launch an investigation into the origins and spread of coronavirus which has killed more than 300,000 people globally.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters on Monday during a daily briefing that the vast majority of countries in the world believed the pandemic was not yet over.

The ministry said in a separate statement that President Xi Jinping would give a video speech later on Monday for the opening ceremony of the World Health Assembly.