Pompeo talks to top Chinese diplomat; seeks transparency, information sharing on COVID-19

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday spoke to a senior Chinese diplomat to underscore the Trump administration's demand for full transparency and information sharing from China about the origins and spread of the new coronavirus. Pompeo's phone call to Yang Jiechi, Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, came a day after US President Donald Trump announced to halt the funding to World Health Organization alleging that it sided with China on coronavirus issue and mislead the world. "The Secretary stressed the need for full transparency and information sharing to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent future outbreaks," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. During the call, he also noted the aid the American people delivered to the people of China in January – and continue to offer – and the high importance the US attaches to China's facilitation of medical supply exports to meet critical demand in the United States. "The two sides confirmed their commitment to defeat the COVID-19 outbreak and restore global health and prosperity," Ortagus said.

Pompeo "stressed the need for full transparency and information sharing to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent future outbreaks," the department said in a statement. Earlier, Pompeo told Fox News on Tuesday that China did not give Americans access when it was needed the most in the beginning. Pompeo also criticized the WHO for taking an awfully long time in declaring the COVID-19 a global pandemic.

He was apparently referring to a secret research lab in Wuhan city in China, which according to a report in a leading American daily, the US State Department has long been worried about its "risky studies" on coronavirus.