DHS Report Says China Lied About Extent of Pandemic in Order to Hoard Medical Supplies; White House Sees British Trade Talks as ‘Chance to Cement Anti-China Alliance’

By Daily Caller. A report from the Department of Homeland Security says the Chinese government lied to world health agencies about the spread of coronavirus in order to buy time to stock up on medical supplies to deal with the pandemic.

The Homeland Security report assessed that Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan in November 2019, according to the Associated Press, which obtained the report.

Chinese leaders told the World Health Organization as recently as Jan. 14 that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus strain. Those assurances led to a false sense that the virus would not transmit easily, and that it could be easily contained.

Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China🇨🇳. pic.twitter.com/Fnl5P877VG

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 14, 2020

While withholding information about the transmissibility of the virus, the Chinese government was busy ordering medical supplies from abroad, including face masks, gloves, and surgical gowns, says the May 1 DHS report obtained by the AP.

The report says that officials determined with a 95% degree of probability that China’s trade activity was not within the normal range, according to the AP. (Read more from “DHS Report Says China Lied About Extent of Pandemic in Order to Hoard Medical Supplies” HERE)

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White House Sees British Trade Talks as ‘Chance to Cement Anti-China Alliance’

By Washington Examiner. Washington officials hope to tie London into a trade deal that would make it harder for China to extend its influence as the United Kingdom and the United States begin talks on Tuesday.

Boris Johnson’s government has made no secret of its desire for rapid trade deals as the U.K. finds a new place in the world after leaving the European Union.

And as tensions rise with China and with months of economic gloom ahead, officials in Washington see an opportunity to score a win over Beijing’s expansionism.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office says it wants to be able under the deal to act if the U.K. strikes free trade deals with “non-market countries,” restricting London’s ability to negotiate with Beijing. (Read more from “White House Sees British Trade Talks as ‘Chance to Cement Anti-China Alliance'” HERE)

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