The world's nations must do all they can to understand the origins of Covid-19, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, comments that could worsen tensions with China.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Morrison said an inquiry into the roots of the virus would minimise the threat of another global pandemic, Reuters reported.

“This virus has inflicted a calamity on our world and its peoples. We must do all we can to understand what happened for no other purpose than to prevent it from happening again,” Morrison said via a teleconference video link.

“There is a clear mandate to identify the zoonotic source of the Covid-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans.”

Morrison's comments came after similar comments by the prime minister earlier in the year soured ties between Australia and China.