Beijing will welcome an international team of Covid-19 investigators due to travel to China in January, said the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the mission, according to Reuters.

China has strongly opposed calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, saying such calls are anti-China, but has been open to a WHO-led investigation.

However, it was unclear whether the WHO investigators will travel to the city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected, with discussions on the itinerary ongoing.

“WHO continues to contact China and to discuss the international team and the places they visit,” Babatunde Olowokure, the WHO’s regional emergencies director in the Western Pacific, told a news conference.

A WHO member and diplomats told Reuters that the mission was expected to go to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the virus.