Pompeo tells UK that China 'bought' WHO chief: Sources

LONDON • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a group of British lawmakers that China had "bought" the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), people familiar with the matter said.

At a private meeting in London on Tuesday, Mr Pompeo said there was firm intelligence to show that a deal had been done to get Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the job of WHO director-general - and that this had resulted in the deaths of British citizens from the coronavirus, the people said.

Three of those present at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talk was private, said Mr Pompeo told them he believed China had bought the WHO chief. He did not give details.

Mr Pompeo's allegations mark a significant escalation in US criticism of the WHO and of China's response to the pandemic. US officials have said the WHO allowed the outbreak to get out of control and US President Donald Trump has said it is too close to China.

Member of Parliament Iain Duncan Smith, who was present, on Wednesday confirmed that Mr Pompeo had said China swayed the WHO director-general election in May 2017 so Dr Tedros won.

"He openly made the point that the arrival of the present chief had taken the WHO backwards and that it had become quite political," Mr Duncan Smith said. "He therefore said that it was China who had managed to get others to ensure that they voted for this particular candidate at the time and that is why the US, he said, has decided to withdraw (from the WHO)."

The WHO said it strongly rejects "any ad hominem attacks and unfounded allegations" and urged countries to remain focused on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked about Mr Pompeo's remarks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's officials said the US Secretary of State did not repeat them in his meeting with the Premier.

"The Prime Minister believes the WHO and its director-general are playing an important role in leading the global health response to the pandemic," a spokesman said, adding that Britain is a major donor to the organisation.

Points of conflict between the US and China have increased dramatically in recent months.

The US Justice Department on Tuesday indicted two Chinese nationals over their role in what the agency called a decade-long cyber espionage campaign that targeted defence contractors, coronavirus researchers and hundreds of other victims worldwide.

The US authorities said Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi stole terabytes of weapons designs, drug information, software source code and personal data from targets including dissidents and Chinese opposition figures. They were contractors for the Chinese government rather than full-fledged spies, they said.

US Assistant Attorney-General for National Security John Demers said the hackings showed China "is willing to turn a blind eye to prolific criminal hackers operating within its borders".

"China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provides safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being on call for the benefit of the state," Mr Demers said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington referred to recent Chinese Foreign Ministry comments that China's officials "firmly oppose and fight" such activities.

The indictment did not name any firms or individuals, but US Attorney William Hyslop cited "hundreds and hundreds of victims in the United States and worldwide".

Officials said the probe was triggered when the hackers broke into a network belonging to the Hanford Site, a decommissioned US nuclear complex, in 2015.

Li and Dong were "one of the most prolific group of hackers we've investigated", FBI Special Agent Raymond Duda said. A July 7 indictment made public on Tuesday alleges that they were contractors for China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), comparable to the US' Central Intelligence Agency.

The MSS, prosecutors said, supplied the hackers with information on critical software vulnerabilities to penetrate targets and collect intelligence. Targets included Hong Kong protesters, the office of the Dalai Lama and a Chinese Christian non-profit organisation.

As early as Jan 27, as the coronavirus outbreak was coming into focus, the hackers were trying to steal Covid-19 vaccine research of a Massachusetts biotechnology firm, the indictment said. It is unclear if anything was stolen.

As Sino-US ties deteriorate, officials in Washington have been increasingly pressing other countries to stand up against Beijing.

On Wednesday, Mr Pompeo urged India to focus on domestic supply chains and reduce its dependence on China for telecommunications and medical supplies.

India had a chance to move "supply chains away from China and reduce its reliance on Chinese companies," Mr Pompeo said at the virtual US-India Business Council's India Ideas Summit. "India is in this position because it has earned the trust of many nations around the world."

India's relations with China have been strained following a border clash last month.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS