The United States has "evidence" that in January and February, China bought 18 times more amount of masks and personal protective equipment, which they are now selling at high rates, a top White House official has claimed.

Peter Navarro, White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing, alleged on Monday that several countries, including India and Brazil, were not having enough PPE because Beijing was hoarding them.

"China vacuumed up all of the personal protective equipment around the world while it was hiding the virus," Navarro told Fox Business News in an interview.

"I have evidence directly from the Chinese government customs duty union that shows that, in the months of January and February, they bought 18 times more amount of masks," he said. "It was over two billion masks alone. They increased their expenditures of both goggles and gloves."

According to Navarro, Europe, India, Brazil and others don't have adequate PPE because China "is hoarding it".

"Not only China is hoarding, but is also selling these at a high rate," the official said. "They are also selling it back to the world at prices that are obscene.

Navarro said such kinds of things needed to be investigated, adding that it was not the right way for a country to behave in an international order that they claim they want to be part of.

According to the official, one of the big takeaways is that the US had to onshore its production, particularly for its medicines, medical supplies and equipment.