What a difference two months make. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in late January riled many Britons and Washington by allowing Chinese telecom firm Huawei to supply parts for British communications networks. Nine weeks and one global pandemic later, that deal and many others are in doubt.

British anger at Beijing’s deceitful handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has bubbled up in recent days. Senior minister Michael Gove on Sunday blamed Beijing for stymieing Britain’s response to the pandemic: “Some of the reporting...