In the latest attack on China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there is “enormous evidence” to show the new coronavirus originated in a lab in China. US officials also believe that China hid corona virus’ severity so it could hoard supplies. An analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies. The report also says China did not inform the World Health Organization that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January, so it could order medical supplies from abroad.

U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak and how contagious the disease is, to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show.

Chinese leaders intentionally concealed the severity of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 said.

The revelation comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of China, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that that country was responsible for the spread of disease and must be held accountable. However, Pompeo said he had no reason to believe that the virus was deliberately spread. But he added, remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories. Pompeo appeared to be referring to previous outbreaks of respiratory viruses, like SARS, which started in China.

The sharper rhetoric coincides with critics of Trump administration saying the government’s response to the virus was slow and inadequate. President Donald Trump’s political opponents have accused him of lashing out at China, a geopolitical foe but critical US trade partner, in an attempt to deflect criticism at home.

Not classified but marked for official use only, the DHS analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies,  the analysis states.

The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organization that the coronavirus was a contagion for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad — and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.

Those conclusions are based on the 95% probability that China’s changes in imports and export behavior were not within normal range, according to the report.

Beijing has repeatedly pushed back on US accusations that the outbreak was China’s fault, pointing to many missteps made by American officials in their own fight against the outbreak.

Experts meanwhile say the virus arose naturally in bats, and make it clear that they believe it wasn’t man-made. Many virologists say the chance that the outbreak was caused by a lab accident is very low, though scientists are still working to determine a point at which it may have jumped from animals to humans.

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