The Chinese Communist Party leader has come under pressure on the global stage over claims of a cover-up surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan. Australia has been one of the most vocal and early advocates of an independent investigation into the origins and early handling of the outbreak, a stance that provoked fury in Beijing. But the world lined up behind the move, with 137 nations co-sponsoring a resolution at the World Health Assembly for an investigation into the pandemic.
An independent panel, headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, will deliver an interim report in November.
Defence industry consultant and former British Army Officer Nicholas Drummond believes it could spell disaster for Xi.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “One of the things about the pandemic is that it will reset our relationship with China – it will reset the world’s relationship with them.
“It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the pandemic started long before December last year, it was actually getting going in September or October.
“By November, they knew they had a serious problem on their hands, yet they chose not to tell us until January 22.
“That’s over two months, and when they did tell us, if Xi had come on and said ‘this is serious, you need to lockdown,’ we would have done so.
“The lack of leadership from China, that inscrutable lack of openness led to a global crisis, and China did that deliberately so it could emerge from the pandemic in a stronger economic position.”
In 2018, the National People's Congress in China passed a law to remove the two-term limit on the presidency, effectively allowing Xi to remain in power for life.
But, in the event of an unfavourable report, Mr Drummond believes the communist state could be under pressure to oust him.
