On Monday, China firmly rejected the demand of the United States President to allow an American team into Wuhan to investigate the origin of the virus. The demand came after Trump expressed his concerns over China’s mishandling of the pandemic.
Talking to the reporters at the daily White House briefing, Trump addressed China as ‘Victims but also culprits’. Trump expressed his disappointments with China and said that America wants to visit Wuhan. The United States has already launched an investigation to look into if the virus originated from the lab of Wuhan Institute of Virology.
China hits back at Trump
Reacting to Trump, the spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, Geng Shuang addressed the media and said that the virus is the common enemy of mankind. He said that,
“It may appear at any time anywhere in the world. Like any other country, China is attacked by this virus. China is a victim instead of the culprit. We are not co-workers for this virus.”
Geng claimed that China has been transparent, open and responsible throughout the COVID-19 crisis with tough measures to stop the spread. However, On Sunday, China drastically revised the death count of Wuhan by increasing it by 50 percent and justified it to be a mistake in reporting.
Countering the United States’ argument of holding China responsible for all the deaths in the world, Geng hit out by saying that United States was never held accountable for the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 or HIV/AIDS or the global economic crisis of 2008 that stemmed from the United States.
Earlier, the French noble prize-winning scientist Luc Montagnier’s remarks the COVID-19 virus was prepared in the laboratory while preparing a vaccine for HIV/AIDS, Geng countered by reiterating that the team of scientists and the World Health Organisation has already debunked the claim.
Geng also responded to Trump’s economic advisor Peter Navarro’s allegation that China is hoarding up the protective medical gears. Geng cited figures that told the other part of the story. From March 1st to April 17th, China has provided 1.6 billion masks, 29.19 million surgical protective suits, 156 invasive ventilators, and 4254 non-invasive ventilators. However, many countries have rejected some of China’s equipment citing it to be faulty.
Source: Livemint
