U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he believes Chinese officials continue to withhold critical information about coronavirus, leaving the rest of the world disadvantaged against the pandemic.

"My concern is that this cover-up, this disinformation that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in, is still denying the world the information it needs so that we can prevent further cases or something like this from recurring again," he said on a radio program that aired Tuesday.

He also said Iran and Russia have joined China in spreading false information about the virus.

"They're talking about it coming from the U.S. Army and they're saying maybe it began in Italy," he said of the three nations. "All things to deflect responsibility."

Pompeo also discussed the negative consequences of American companies manufacturing key goods overseas, instead of in the United States.

The Chinese Communist Party has rejected Pompeo's statements about a lack of transparency, saying he is trying to mislead other nations in their views of China.