In this file photo US CDC Director Robert  Redfield speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on April 22, 2020, in Washington, DC. (MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

WASHINGTON - Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Tuesday that his agency "had very good interactions" with its Chinese counterpart at the scientific level after the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

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"I personally had discussions as early, I think CDC did as early as January 2, and myself January 3, with the counterpart to discuss this," Redfield said during a teleconference hearing hosted by a Senate panel. "So at a scientific level, we had very good interactions."

Redfield, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, also said that the United States and Chinese CDCs have "worked together for decades, particularly on influenza and emerging infectious diseases."

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"And that has been a very productive, collaborative, scientific interaction," he stressed.