The World Health Organisation has dismissed as false allegations a media report that it withheld information about the new coronavirus following pressure from China, AP reports.

The UN agency said in a statement late Saturday that a German magazine's report about a telephone conversation between WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan 21 was unfounded and untrue.

Weekly Der Spiegel reported that Xi asked Tedros during the call to hold back information about human-to-human transmission of the virus and delay declaring a pandemic. The magazine quoted Germany's foreign intelligence agency, BND, which declined to comment Sunday.

Der Spiegel also claimed that the BND concluded up to six weeks of time to fight the outbreak had been lost due to China's information policy.

The UN agency said Tedros and Xi have never spoken by phone and added that such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO's and the world's efforts to end the Covid-19 pandemic.