Chinese officials have hindered efforts to trace the source of the COVID-19 virus, resulting in a lack of information and unanswered questions. This has occurred despite stated support for open scientific inquiry. The Chinese government has closed labs, barred foreign scientists, and restricted Chinese researchers from leaving the country in an attempt to avoid blame. As a result, the world remains vulnerable to another outbreak, and pandemic treaty talks coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) are being undermined.