ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida's chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis , is demanding that China pay for the coronavirus outbreak.

The CFO says the Communist Party of China’s response to the early outbreak of the virus harmed Florida. He sent a letter to the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. that demands financial restitution. In it, Patronis cited incompetent and fraudulent actions by the Chinese.

The letter also says whistleblowers were silenced in China, and journalists who covered the early stages of the pandemic disappeared.

Patronis said his office will identify Chinese-owned or -controlled businesses set to receive a payment from the state, and that money could be withheld to offset costs to Florida.

Patronis added his office will work with Gov. Ron DeSantis's and Attorney General Ashley Moody's offices to look at possibly filing a lawsuit in federal court to hold China legally responsible.