“I suspect it was a gain of function project that escaped the lab some how. If it was deliberate or accidental, we will probably never know”
Read this, especially the last part, It may help you decide.
Last 2 paragraphs from that link; it’s a secret speech by a Chinese govt official:
Now, it seems like we are in the same critical period as the “horses were drinking water” in the Yangtze River days in the revolutionary era, as long as we resolve the United States problem at one blow, our domestic problems will all be readily solved. Therefore, our military battle preparation appears to aim at Taiwan but in fact is aimed at the United States, and the preparation is far beyond the scope of attacking aircraft carriers or satellites.
Marxism pointed out that violence is the midwife for the birth of China’s century. As war approaches, I am full of hope for our next generation.”