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CIA believes China pressured WHO to delay life-saving coronavirus warnings and hoarded medical supplies, says report

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THE CIA believes China threatened the WHO into delaying warnings about Covid-19 while it hoarded medical supplies, a new report says.

According to the bombshell document, Beijing told the World Health Organisation they would stop working with them if the agency declared a global health emergency.

 WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with China's Xi Jinping in January
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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with China's Xi Jinping in JanuaryCredit: AFP or licensors

The alleged pressure in January enabled China to stockpile crucial medical equipment while the coronavirus - which started in Wuhan late last year - spread around the world, reports Newsweek.

This comes as the respiratory disease has killed nearly 300,000 people globally with President Donald Trump branding the WHO a tool of “Chinese propaganda.”

Trump says there is enough evidence China misled the rest of the world about the nature of the outbreak while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Beijing of withholding samples of Covid-19 from other countries.

COVER UP CLAIMS

Two US intelligence sources confirmed the contents of the CIA report, titled 'U.N.-China: WHO Mindful But Not Beholden to China,' to Newsweek.

The latest report comes after similar leaked spy documents have alleged Beijing attempted to cover up the crisis.

A German intelligence document claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping personally pressured the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus into downplaying the risk of the virus.

Newspaper Der Spiegel cited sources from Munich's Federal Intelligence Service, known as the 'Bundesnachrichtendienst' (BND).

HOARDED MEDICAL SUPPLIES

The spy document said: “On January 21, China's leader Xi Jinping asked WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to hold back information about a human-to-human transmission and to delay a pandemic warning.

“The BND estimates that China's information policy lost four to six weeks to fight the virus worldwide.”

In response, the WHO branded the claims “unfounded and untrue.”

A third dossier, from the Five Eyes intelligence agencies of the US, Canada, the UKAustralia and New Zealand, stated that China's secrecy surrounding the virus led to an "assault on international transparency".

 A wet market in Guangzhou, China, selling turtles for food. The Covid-19 outbreak is believed to have started at a market in Wuhan
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A wet market in Guangzhou, China, selling turtles for food. The Covid-19 outbreak is believed to have started at a market in WuhanCredit: EPA
 Members of the Chinese military holding drill marches. China has been accused of attempting to cover up the outbreak
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Members of the Chinese military holding drill marches. China has been accused of attempting to cover up the outbreakCredit: Getty Images - Getty

It said: "Despite evidence of human-human transmission from early December, PRC authorities deny it until January 20.

"The World Health Organisation does the same. Yet officials in Taiwan raised concerns as early as December 31, as did experts in Hong Kong on January 4."

A fourth intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security, much like the CIA dossier, claims China deliberately downplayed the deadliness of the new virus while slyly increasing imports and decreasing exports of vital medical gear, according to the Associated Press.

But China then tried to cover up its actions by “denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data,” the analysis adds.

The beleaguered health agency also released a statement via Newsweek responding to the reported CIA document.

WHO DENIALS

It read: “We don't comment on specific discussions with member states but we can say that at all times during the pandemic WHO has acted in accordance with its mandate as an evidence-based technical organization focusing on protecting all people, everywhere.”

“WHO bases its recommendations on science, public health best practices, evidence, data, and the advice of independent experts.”

The organization said WHO boss Tedros did not communicate with President Xi between January 20 and 22 before the pair met in Beijing on the 28th.

When the agency did finally declare the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30 they praised China's handling of the pandemic.

At the time, Tedros said: “Let me be clear: This declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak.”

At the weekend, the Communist Party issued a 30-page document slamming “preposterous allegations” about its handling of the crisis.

The report even quoted Abraham Lincoln, saying: “As Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Last month, a report claimed China has intentionally lied about its number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

The country faked the numbers on purpose, the American intelligence community concluded in a classified report given to the White House last week, Bloomberg News reported, citing three U.S. officials.

 Donald Trump has branded the WHO a 'propaganda tool' of China
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Donald Trump has branded the WHO a 'propaganda tool' of ChinaCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Passengers waiting for a taxi in Wuhan have their body temperatures checked as well as presenting a health code on their phones
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Passengers waiting for a taxi in Wuhan have their body temperatures checked as well as presenting a health code on their phonesCredit: AFP or licensors


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