How is China spinning the story of coronavirus? Here are the five big lies

China's Communist Party has excelled in rewriting its own history. More than 30 years ago, at least 10 thousand people were killed in Tiananmen square. Almost 20 years ago, China hid information about the SARS outbreak, killing hundreds.

Now, a pandemic has ravaged the world. Here are five lies China is pushing to rewrite the narrative surrounding coronavirus:

1. Wuhan is back with a bang

China wants you to see Wuhan as a city with pool parties, reopened schools, and streets abuzz.

With help from Chinese state media, Wuhan is projected in a light of normalcy.But they do not show the Huanan seafood market, where the virus is believed to have originated.

According to news agency Reuters, the Huanan seafood market remains is a no-go zone, with a large security detail that chases away anyone who lingers too close.

The Chinese state organised a tour for journalists to show how Wuhan is faring. The pitch went along the lines of “no other place is as safe as Wuhan”. But they weren't allowed inside the Huanan seafood market.

2. False stories on the origins of the virus

Chinese state mouthpieces have been blame the virus on external players.

For instance, the People's Daily re-published a claim from the Global Times which asserts that coronavirus could have originated in the US. It quoted a “Japanese TV report" as the source of the information, and was first published in February.

Since then, voices of Chinese "experts" have been used to create doubts and confusion. Earlier this year, Xinhua published a write up quoting Dr Jong Nan-Shan, who led the fight against SARS and COVID-19. Dr Jong said: “COVID-19 was first discovered in China, does not mean it originated here".

Following this, a group of scientific researchers claimed that coronavirus was "imported from elsewhere". Then, China published an entire book about Wuhan's fight against the virus.

3. The facade of economic recovery

China claims its economy is slowly recovering. According to a report, Chinese exports are back on track. China's nemesis, the US remains the biggest buyer of Chinese goods, followed by the European Union and Southeast Asia.

According to the Chinese state media, the country has outperformed most G20 nations. However, there is massive over-investment in the Chinese economy, especially in the real estate sector.

A Wall Street Journal report described the property boom in China as a "52 trillion dollar bubble". This is bigger than the US Property market boom of early 2000s, which had triggered the financial crisis of 2008.

The Chinese state is also using its banks to keep the economy going, by recently forcing the state banks to forego 218 billion Dollars in profits.

Experts anticipate a rise in non-performing assets or bad loans. By the end of last year, non performing loans in China's commercial banks surged past 330 billion Dollars.

4. Claims of covid vaccines.

Today, for the first time China showed the world its vaccines. Two companies have produced these, Sinovac biotech and Sinopharm.

Sinovac alone says it will produce 300 million doses of the vaccine in a year. However, the vaccines are at an experimental stage, yet to pass the third and the most critical phase of the trials.

China is far from regulatory approval. The country may be advertising its vaccine to maintain the narrative within the country, and also to keep potential buyers interested.

According to a report, 90 per cent of Sinovac employees and their families have already taken this experimental vaccine.

5. Stonewalling a global investigation

More than one hundred countries demanded a probe into the virus at the World Health Assembly a few months back.

Last month, a WHO team visited China to investigate the origins of the virus, but they were not even taken to Wuhan.

The world health body says it will send another delegation to the city.

According to a report from July, Beijing is creating hurdles for the investigation. The WHO Team that travelled to China faced "logistical headaches”, and the advance team was placed under a 14-day quarantine. This forced them to "do some of their detective work from a distance."