London: Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says China's initial response to the coronavirus outbreak was insufficient and inadequate.

Ban suggested stricter measures like border closures and a military response, like the one enacted to contain the Ebola outbreak, could have prevented the disease from spreading to countries less capable than China of defeating the virus.

Ban Ki-moon says China's initial response to the coronavirus outbreak has been inadequate. Credit:Fairlight Photos

Ban, who was secretary-general until 2016, made the comments at a Brand Finance conference in London on soft power. Notably he declined to answer twice when asked if China's suppression and punishment of early whistleblowers had done damage to the authoritarian regime's brand abroad.

"My own country Korea has been affected very seriously by the coronavirus unfortunately," he said.