Missouri on Tuesday became the first US state to sue the Chinese government over its handling of COVID-19, saying that China’s response to the outbreak that originated in the city of Wuhan brought devastating economic losses to the state.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday dismissed the accusation as “nothing short of absurdity” and lacking any factual or legal basis.
The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, alleges negligence, among other claims.
It says Missouri and its residents suffered possibly tens of billions of dollars in economic damages, and seeks cash compensation.
“The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistle-blowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease,” Schmitt, a Republican, said in a statement. “They must be held accountable for their actions.”
The lawsuit also accuses the Chinese government of making the pandemic worse by “hoarding” masks and other personal protective equipment.
China is already facing similar lawsuits filed in US courts on behalf of US business owners.
However, a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity offers foreign governments broad protection from being sued in US courts, said Tom Ginsburg, a professor of international law at the University of Chicago.
Ginsburg said he thought the recent flurry of lawsuits against China serves a political end for Republican leaders facing an election in November.
“We are seeing a lot of people on the political right focus on the China issue to cover up for the US government’s own errors,” Ginsburg said.
As of Tuesday COVID-10 has killed more than 43,000 people in the US.
The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering’s COVID-19 dashboard showed the number of Missouri deaths from the virus rose by 16 on Tuesday to 215.
In Beijing, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said that China’s response was not under the jurisdiction of US courts, adding that it had provided updates on the outbreak to the US since Jan. 3.
“Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response ... in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation,” Geng told a daily briefing.
Additional reporting by AP
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