A Chinese official is under fire after making a surprise speech at a federal government press conference.

Victorian Chinese consul-general Long Zhou took to the podium after being introduced by Australian businessman Andrew Forrest, who has obtained 10 million testing kits from China.

Health Minister Greg Hunt also spoke at the conference.

In his speech, Mr Zhou claimed the Chinese government had cooperated in “an open, transparent and responsible manner” with international governments in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.

Author Clive Hamilton told Ben Fordham it’s “simply not true”, accusing Mr Forrest of “facilitat[ing] … essentially, a piece of propaganda on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.”

“In fact, [the Chinese government] is trying to manipulate the information and get control of the global narrative.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty