China has pushed back against criticisms that it withheld information on the Covid-19 outbreak when it first started in January.

Many politicians in the United States, Australia, Britain, France, and Germany, have called for investigations into China's handling of the outbreak.

Doubts on the official statistics from China have also been expressed by medical professionals in Asia back in January, when the outbreak had yet to become widespread.

U.S. accused China of not warning the world soon enough

Such calls are the most heated in the United States, where the U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of failing to alert the world to the Covid-19 threat soon enough, and in a transparent manner.

Trump also stood out for fuelling a conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 pathogen had been accidentally leaked from a virology lab in Wuhan.

The theory was vehemently denied by the lab itself, and was also rejected by virus experts from outside of China.

Trump's accusations came after revelation that U.S. warned of contagion in China in November

Trump's comments first came after it was reported that the Pentagon, and White House, and the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency were briefed several times by U.S. intelligence officers on the dangers of a viral outbreak that was spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The warnings came as early as November 2019.

The revelation suggested that the U.S. could have taken taken adequate precautions to prepare for the outbreak once it reached its shores.

Such accusations against China are the most pronounced in the state of Missouri, which has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government for covering up the extent of the Covid-19 outbreak through an "appalling campaign of deceit", Bloomberg reported.

However, as it is extremely difficult to sue a foreign government in foreign courts due to sovereign immunity, the suit is unlikely to go through.

Chinese ambassador to the U.S. criticises U.S. for lack of transparency

China's ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, defended China's handling of the viral outbreak, saying China had been open in providing information to the U.S. and the World Health Organisation through calls made in January, as well as daily press briefings, Reuters reported.

Flipping the narrative around

Cui had also flipped the transparency narrative around on the U.S.

He criticised the U.S. for giving "little attention" to the views of scientists as "some politicians are so preoccupied in their efforts for stigmatisation, for groundless accusations".

The official state-run Chinese media, People's Daily, had also cast doubt on the figures emanating from the U.S., saying that actual Covid-19 cases in the U.S. far exceed official statistics.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who gained international attention for suggesting that the virus originated in the U.S. without proof, also hit back at a report by the Associated Press, which claimed that China did not warn its own people of the virus for six days.

Growing doubts over the US government’s handling of the #COVID19, e.g. When did the first infection occur in the US? Is the US government hiding something? Why they opt to blame others? American people and the international community need an answer from the US government.

— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) April 27, 2020

China a "victim" of disinformation campaigns

In response to accusations that China pressured European Union officials to tone down its language on China's involvement with disinformation campaigns on Covid-19 in a report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular presser on Monday, April 27, that China is a "victim" of disinformation campaigns, rather than the perpetrator.

China always stands against disinformation campaign. We are victim rather than producer of disinformation. Peddling disinformation and recrimination are by no means prescription for international anti-pandemic cooperation and should be rejected by all. pic.twitter.com/oPLVEPprNu

— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) April 27, 2020

Chinese diplomats grow increasingly assertive even when its responses perceived negatively by foreign countries

A South China Morning Post report, citing China experts, claimed that Chinese ambassadors and diplomats were given a broad directive by Chinese President Xi Jinping to adopt a more assertive diplomatic approach that has been called "Wolf Warrior" diplomacy.

Such a strategy relegates the consequences of the diplomats' fiery outbursts to a backseat, even if they are hurting China's global image instead, as carrying out the Chinese leader's wishes were seen as more critical.

Top image via Getty Images