The pandemic was still in its early months when the I-Unit obtained exclusive video revealing a huge backlog of goods at China’s biggest export hub. These included supplies of medical masks, respirators and protective clothing urgently needed to combat CoVid-19.

One video shows long lines of trucks loaded with cargo and waiting for customs clearance at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Other videos reveal chaotic scenes at airport facilities with hundreds of boxes of medical supplies piling up in warehouses.

China produces nearly half the world’s supply of protective medical equipment with the U.S. and Europe two of its biggest customers.

A Western shipping agent, speaking anonymously for fear of repercussions for his Chinese staff, described the situation as “carnage”.

China imposed stricter export controls in response to international pressure to weed out sub-standard equipment, some of which had been returned to China from Europe a month earlier. It also appeared that deteriorating diplomatic relations between China and West had made the trade in goods to fight the pandemic more problematic.