US President Donald Trump accuses China of "mass worldwide killing," blaming the country for the coronavirus pandemic. He also attacked a certain "wacko in China."
His early morning Tweet was the latest statement made by the White House against China. Trump used his attacks on Beijing as anchor for his November re-election bid.
"Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people. Please explain to this dope that it was the 'incompetence of China', and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!" the president Tweeted.
The coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The virus spread fast into other countries and led to the deaths of over 323,000. The pandemic also caused a huge economic damage.
Trump previously downplayed the coronavirus threat, saying China was addressing the outbreak. He later said that China should be blamed for the global spread.
Despite the lack of evidence, the White House suggested that the virus was made in a laboratory. With this, Trump consistently released threats of retaliation against Beijing.
He also warned that the US funding to the World Health Organization may be permanently cut off because of the agency's alliance with China as it allegedly covers up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak.
US' "lies and rumors"
On the other hand, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested that it was the US military that brought the virus to China.
On Wednesday, Zhao cited instances that pertain to the "many mistakes and loopholes on the US side, their lies and rumours".
"The US has seemingly forgotten that in the past, US leaders have repeatedly and publicly praised China's anti-epidemic work," Zhao said.
Zhao also criticized US politicians "who want to shift the blame but can't shift it away."
Xi reportedly threw a shade at the US during a phone call with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"Xi emphasised that China opposes actions that interfere with international anti-epidemic cooperation and harm the world's - and especially developing countries' - efforts to fight the pandemic," state news agency Xinhua reported.
"China is willing to continue to work with the international community, including Bangladesh, to support the WHO's leadership role, promote international joint prevention and control cooperation, and safeguard global public health security," Xi said.
No more ties with China
Meanwhile, US secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested during a news conference on Wednesday that the coronavirus crisis had eroded US ties with China. He said "we greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations."
Pompeo, Trump's supporter, said China was governed by a "brutal, authoritarian regime".
"The Chinese Communist Party's response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan has accelerated our more realistic understanding of Communist China," he said.
"Today, as we all sit here this morning, Beijing continues to deny investigators access to relevant facilities, to withhold live virus samples, to censor discussion on the pandemic within China and much, much more," he added.
Meanwhile, the White House will disclose the China Strategy to Congress on Wednesday. It lays out Beijing’s actions that could harm US interests. The report lambasts China’s economic policies, military formations, human rights violations, and disinformation campaigns.
