Donald Trump twice ignored advice from his aides to press China's Xi Jinping for transparency about coronavirus' origins and symptoms during calls in January, insiders reveal
- Trump turned down suggestions by aides who suggested he press Chinese President Xi Jinping on transparency
- His HHS secretary didn't seek coronavirus samples in a January call with his counterpart, according to a whistleblower
- Trump tweeted January 24: 'China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus' and said the U.S. 'appreciates their efforts and transparency'
- The U.S. was working to calm trade tensions. China also manufactures protective gear
President Donald Trump turned down suggestions by aides who suggested he press Chinese President Xi Jinping on transparency dealing with the coronavirus in January – during a month when Trump praised Xi for it.
His administration continues to fault China for holding back critical information on the pandemic.
Trump twice turned down the advice two times about pushing the sensitive issue with China, an economic rival where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated and spread, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On a second occasion, Trump said the criticism could backfire and cause Beijing to be less helpful.
President Donald Trump twice turned down requests to push Chinese president Xi Jinping on transparency
Trump's public statements about China's role around that time were upbeat. He tweeted January 24: 'China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!'
Trump also made numerous statements publicly praising China's response at that time. 'Our relationship with China is the best it's ever been,' Trump said January 15. He touted his 'great relationship' with President Xi in a January 24 interview with CNBC from Davos.
Trump in January was trying to end a long running trade dispute with China. As the world was learning about the coronavirus, the U.S. wanted to get genetic information about the virus, plus get U.S. officials inside China and obtain samples of the virus itself.
As many officials would later learn, the U.S. was dependent on China's supply chain to provide masks and other protective gear to deal with the pandemic.
Trump has repeatedly praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Sellers and customers wearing facemasks to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city are seen at a market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 24, 2020. - China sealed off millions more people near the epicenter of a virus outbreak on January 24, shutting down public transport in an eighth city in an unprecedented quarantine effort as the death toll climbed to 26
Workers are seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, on February 23, 2017
Trump praised China for its transparency in January – the same month insiders say they were urging him to press Xi Jinping on the issue
Other U.S. officials also appear to have held back from pushing China too hard. A top government research scientist who became a whistleblower says in his complaint that Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar failed to ask the Chinese for coronavirus samples during a call in January.
We 'cannot emphasize enough the critical need to access virus to initiate' vaccine development,' he said in January 27th discussions,' Dr. Rick Bright, who was removed as director of a biomedical research division at HHS, says he warned officials, according to his whistleblower complaint.
Trump's public comments about China soon soured as the virus spread, and for a time he referred to the coronavirus as the 'Chinese virus.' He has now stopped that practice.
The ongoing pandemic has now put U.S.-China relations under strain.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday again blasted China for holding back information.
'They knew. China could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. China could have spared the world descent into global economic malaise,' Pompeo said at a news conference. 'China is still refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe,' he said.
Trump at a press conference last week suggested the U.S. could impose tariffs to punish China.
Trump warned: 'We signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy, and they've been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus.'
He added: 'The virus situation is just not acceptable.'
On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying went after Pompeo for his claim, also put forward by Trump, that the virus could have originated in a Chinese lab.
'While scientists have not come to a conclusion, why is Secretary Pompeo drawing the hasty conclusion that the virus came from a Wuhan lab? Where is his proof? Show us the proof. If he cannot show any evidence, then he may still be in the process of making up this evidence."
An op-ed in China's Global Times said Pompeo 'betrays Christianity with lies.' A state broadcaster branded Pompeo 'evil' and 'insane.
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