"When we met, now last year, the landscape was very different.  We couldn’t have imagined the pandemic that came from Wuhan. That crisis was made infinitely worse by the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup," Pompeo said at the QUAD meeting.

"The regime’s authoritarian nature led its leaders to lock up and silence the very brave Chinese citizens who were raising the alarm. 

"America stands with each of you as we work to achieve victory over this horrible pandemic and rebuild our economies together, and I’m looking forward to that part of our conversation today," he said.

Pompeo said: "As partners in this Quad, it is more critical now than ever that we collaborate to protect our people and partners from the CCP’s exploitation, corruption, and coercion.  We’ve seen it in the south, in the East China Sea, the Mekong, the Himalayas, the Taiwan Straits.  These are just a few examples."

The COVID-19 virus has now hit nearly all the countries across the globe.

The disease is believed to have originated from China.