Photo taken on Feb. 9, 2021 shows a scene of the WHO-China joint study press conference in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

A timeline of how China has released timely information, shared experience, and advanced international exchange and cooperation since the onset of the pandemic.

BEIJING, April 12  -- The megacity of Wuhan, where China fought a crucial battle against the COVID-19 epidemic, has recently marked its first anniversary since it ended the 76-day lockdown.

China's successful handling of the pathogen within the city and beyond has inspired other affected regions worldwide to speed up a recovery, yet some U.S. politicians have clung on to a smear campaign against China's transparency and timeliness in sharing information at early stages of the outbreak.

Here is a timeline of how China has released timely information, shared experience, and advanced international exchange and cooperation since the onset of the pandemic:

Dec. 27, 2019

-- Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine reported cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. The Wuhan municipal government conducted epidemiological investigation and testing on the patients concerned.

Dec. 30, 2019

-- The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission sent out an urgent notification to medical institutions under its jurisdiction about an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown cause in the city. Upon the report of the outbreak, the National Health Commission (NHC) acted immediately to organize research into the disease.