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In mid-February, a top official at the W.H.O. said that restrictive measures adopted by China had delayed the spread of the virus to other countries, saying: “Right now, the strategic and tactical approach in China is the correct one.”

“It is very China-centric,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a briefing in the Rose Garden. “I told that to President Xi. I said, ‘The World Health Organization is very China-centric.’ Meaning, whatever it is, China was always right. You can’t do that. You can’t do that. Not right.”

Many of the president’s closest aides, including Peter Navarro, his trade adviser, and key members the National Security Council, have long been suspicious of China. Mr. Trump himself has often offered contradictory messages about the country — repeatedly saying nice things about Xi Jinping, the country’s leaders, even as he wages a fierce, on-again, off-again trade war with China.

On Jan. 24, about a month after the virus was discovered there, Mr. Trump tweeted: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”

But White House officials said that even the public health officials dealing with the pandemic are in agreement that the W.H.O. has been too cozy with China’s government during the crisis.

Last Friday, the president attended a meeting of his coronavirus task force and polled all of the doctors in the room about the W. H. O, according to an official who attended the meeting. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said that the W.H.O. has a “China problem” and then others around the room — including Dr. Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the U.S. response, and Dr. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C. — agreed with the statement, the official said

“They explained how the organization is structured and that each region governs itself basically,” said the official, who declined to be identified without clearance to be talking about a private meeting. “It does have some successful areas, but China is clearly a problem and they said it has been for a long time.”