The US embarked on a smearing campaign when it handled the covid outbreak very badly.

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/covid-19/chinese-covid-19-numbers-not-fake-berkley-professor

It is very difficult to understate the covid statistics by 15x to 40x without being discovered.  The US and UK had been alleging that China had understated its cases by 15-40x which was ridiculous.  These 2 western countries just wanted to deflect their incapabilities from their own countries to falsified statistics in China so that their own statistics would look much better.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/british-scientific-advisers-claim-chinas-outbreak-could-be-15-to-40-times-worse-than-reported-report-says

China's statistics were much lower because the communist government took a hardline approach in containing the virus outbreak while the UK took a herd immunity approach and the US took a relaxed approach.  The western countries also didn't like to wear masks.

Who to blame now? The western countries like to blame China except themselves.