US

The CIA Is Trying To Find China’s Real Coronavirus Data

Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
Font Size:

The CIA is looking into China’s coronavirus data to find the real numbers after the U.S. intelligence community reportedly concluded Chinese President Xi Jinping’s regime had falsified the data.

The CIA believes the Chinese government does not know the true number of cases or deaths in the country, and has instead lied about the data, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The news comes as China touts a supposed drop in number of new cases in the country. China’s official death tally for the city of Wuhan has also been called into question.

“There’s no way to confirm any of those numbers,” National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told NYT. “There’s lots of public reporting on whether the numbers are too low.” (RELATED: Pelosi Says Senate Coronavirus Bill Is Discriminatory To Residents In DC, One Day Before House Vote)

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 6: Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a China-France Economic Forum at the Great Hall of the People on November 6, 2019 in Beijing, China. Macron, who is on a three-day state visit and also attended the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, said that France and China have found common ground on climate change and trade, but that Beijing needs to be more open to foreign companies, according to published reports. (Photo by Florence Lo - Pool/Getty Images)

BEIJING, CHINA – NOVEMBER 6: Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a China-France Economic Forum at the Great Hall of the People on November 6, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Florence Lo – Pool/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has been hesitant to attack China on the issue, however. He declined to say whether China’s numbers should be believed at a Wednesday press briefing despite the intelligence community’s conclusions being reported earlier that day.

U.S. politicians have also called for punishments on China and even the World Health Organization, which has parroted propaganda from the Chinese government throughout the pandemic. (RELATED: Mitch McConnell Restructures Campaign Into Meals Effort For Kentuckians Affected By Coronavirus)

Wuhan, where the virus first broke out, officially reported 2,500 deaths. But over the course of two days during the crisis, just one of the city’s eight mortuaries received shipments of 5,000 urns to carry ashes of the deceased, according to Shanghaiist.

The mortuary plans to release urns at a rate of 500 per day until April 4. If the city’s seven other mortuaries are adopting the same policy, that would total 40,000 urns, starting with the first confirmed delivery on March 26.