Der Spiegel, citing German intelligence, says Xi and Tedros talked on Jan 21. They report that Xi asked Tedros to hold back info on human-to-human transmission and delay pandemic warning. WHO says it didn't happen. Two things about the Der Spiegel timeline strike me... 1/3 https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1259234241537355777

China absolutely did downplay H-H transmission. But Chinese officials admitted Jan. 20 that the virus was spreading person to person. Why ask Tedros to hold back this info on Jan 21? We need to know more about what information was reportedly exchanged. 2/2

It was the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) that was at stake on Jan. 21, not the question of using the word pandemic. The PHEIC call, which was controversial, took place on Jan. 23. The pandemic question arose much later. 3/3

I've both linked to WHO's denial in my thread and expressed skepticism about their timeline.