Terry Branstad: Outgoing US ambassador to China blames Beijing for coronavirus as he heads home to help Trump

Speaking to CNN in Beijing on Friday, Terry Branstad, a former longtime Iowa governor, agreed with President Donald Trump that China was to blame for the pandemic, adding that the ࢀœChinese system was such that they covered it up and even penalized the doctors who pointed it out at the beginning.ࢀ Echoing criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other White House officials, Branstad also blamed Chinaࢀ™s system for leading to a spike in tensions and a degrading of one of Washingtonࢀ™s most consequential bilateral relationships. He told CNN that he was…