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 The article, published late on Thursday, comes after The Times
newspaper reported claims by whistleblowers that five positive
tests, two believed to have been failed in October and the others at
the turn of the year, were suppressed "to avoid a storm".
Xinhua quoted the deputy director of the Chinese anti-doping agency
(CHINADA), Zhao Jian, as saying there was no "cover up" and that
they were following regulations.
The agency had yet to disclose athletes' information because of the
time needed to test B samples and to conduct an investigation and
hearings, prior to which the relevant information had to be
protected, he said.
CHINADA would "release results and punishments in 20 days after the
relevant association makes its respective punishments", Zhao added.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday it was
investigating allegations published by The Times that Chinese
Swimming had covered up positive doping tests ahead of the Olympic
trials, which are due to be held in April.
 WADA issued a statement soon afterwards, stating that "these are
very serious allegations concerning Chinese Swimming that warrant
further examination."
The agency is now fully scrutinizing the information so that it can
determine exactly what the appropriate steps are, it added.
The Chinese Swimming Association announced previously that six
Chinese swimmers had failed doping tests during the 2015-16 season.
It identified three of them as Chinese Navy's Zhao Ying, Wang Lizhuo
and Tianjin's An Jiabao, who tested positive for Clenbuterol in
out-competition tests.
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The other three, who tested positive for the prohibited diuretic
hydrochlorothiazide in out-competition tests in January and who have
applied for hearings since, were not named.
Officials reached by telephone at the association declined to
comment on The Times article, or the doping issue in general.
A second Chinese-language Xinhua article cited a 2015-16 doping
report published by the association on Thursday as saying that the
athletes' information needed to be protected before CHINADA
completed its procedures.
A copy of the CSA report could not be found online by Reuters on
Thursday.
China, which has been seeking to elevate its sports prestige on a
global scale, views swimming as an important part of that national
effort.
At the 2012 London Olympics, China finished second to the United
States in the swimming medal table, but topped the table at the
World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia.
(Reporting by Jessica Macy Yu; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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