A spat between the US and China over a novel coronavirus yesterday escalated as US President Donald Trump angered Beijing by referring to the pathogen as the “Chinese Virus.”
The two countries have sparred over the origin of the virus for days, with a Chinese official promoting conspiracy theories claiming it was brought to China by the US army and US officials using terms seen as stigmatizing a nation.
“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” Trump tweeted on Monday night.
Trump’s allies had previously referred to the pandemic as the “Chinese coronavirus.”
Beijing yesterday said it was “strongly indignant” over the phrase, which it called “a kind of stigmatization.”
The US should “immediately stop its unjustified accusations against China,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) told reporters.
A commentary by Xinhua news agency said using “racist and xenophobic names to cast blame for the outbreak on other countries can only reveal politicians’ irresponsibility and incompetence which will intensify virus fears.”
The war of words reignited diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which have tussled over trade and other disputes since Trump took office.
Trump’s comments were criticized inside the US, with warnings it could incite a backlash against the Asian-American community.
“Our Asian-American communities — people YOU serve — are already suffering. They don’t need you fueling more bigotry,” tweeted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose state is one of the hardest-hit by the virus in the US.
The new coronavirus virus was first detected late last year, with Chinese health officials initially saying its source was a live animal market in the city of Wuhan, whose government had initially tried to cover up the outbreak.
However, China has sought to distance itself from the virus, saying the origin is still unknown, while seeking global goodwill by offering aid to countries facing serious outbreaks.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a phone call he initiated with Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) voiced anger that Beijing has used official channels “to shift blame for COVID-19 to the United States,” the US Department of State said.
Pompeo “stressed that this is not the time to spread disinformation and outlandish rumors, but rather a time for all nations to come together to fight this common threat,” the department added.
The State Department on Friday summoned Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) to denounce Beijing’s promotion of a conspiracy theory that had gained wide attention on social media.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) suggested on Twitter last week that “patient zero” in the global pandemic might have come from the US.
“It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation,” tweeted Zhao, who is known for his provocative statements on social media.
Pompeo himself has sought to link China to the global pandemic, repeatedly referring to the “Wuhan virus,” despite advice from health professionals that such geographic labels can be stigmatizing.
Yang issued a “stern warning to the United States that any scheme to smear China will be doomed to fail,” Xinhua said in its summary of the call with Pompeo.
He “noted that some US politicians have frequently slandered China and its anti-epidemic efforts and stigmatized the country, which has enraged the Chinese people,” Xinhua said.
Yang called on the US side to “correct its wrongful behavior.”
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