In the course of coronavirus skirmishes trump explains why chess and poker is not checkers, and China produces cartoons to piss off the USA
The US and China are entering a new phase of confrontation, which undoubtedly will affect the entire world. Donald trump stated: the US has evidence that the Virology Institute in Wuhan (from that Chinese city started a pandemic) could become a source COVID-19, not eliminating the punishment increase duties on Chinese goods. Official Beijing, on the contrary, in pandemic coronavirus blames US, saying that they developed and brought the virus in Wuhan.
Political tension between the two countries fuels the approaching presidential elections in the USA (trump has already stated that China wants its loss in the elections), as well as severe economic consequences of a pandemic like the States themselves, where the number of unemployed exceeded 30 million, and China – indeed, the official Beijing need someone to hang all the dogs. The website “Today” has collected the official statements of the parties, data intelligence and media publications about the origin of the coronavirus. In the coming days we will also publish the opinions of experts about what will bring a new round of confrontation between the US and China, where interest in Russia and what to prepare for Ukraine.
In the US talked about the origin of the coronavirus
Many in the United States, especially opposition politicians and the media, criticized trump for willful denial of the dangers COVID-19 and the late quarantine. For example, on March 4 in an interview with Fox News, the White house said:
“I think that 3.4 per cent (the mortality rate from coronavirus. – Ed.) – it’s really about the number. Again, this is only my guess, but it is based on the many conversations… Personally I would say that this number is less than 1%”.
Until mid-March, Donald trump claimed that the coronavirus in the United States under control, but on March 16 introduced the state of emergency. While in one of the briefings in the White house, the US President called the COVID-19 “Chinese virus”, writing about it later on Twitter, although who cautioned against coronavirus ties with any particular country.
Oil poured into the fire, the scandal surrounding American intelligence data on pandemic coronavirus, which supposedly trump saw in January and February, but was ignored. This is with reference to sources wrote several American media. The White house called the charges unfounded and denied everything.
In mid-April, trump stopped funding who, until then, until the US study (from 60 to 90 days) failures and the organization’s role in the spread of the coronavirus, which took the side of China, when the us imposed restrictions on flights to Beijing. Later, the head of the White house first threatened China with consequences, because, according to trump, Beijing has deliberately concealed information about COVID-19. Recently in an interview with Fox News he said that as punishment, China, the U.S. is considering raising duties on Chinese goods:
“This is the worst punishment, that’s what I say. We all play a challenging game of chess or poker. And it’s not checkers. Tariffs are a great tool in negotiations.”
Immediately after that, the Associated Press, referring to the report of the Ministry of internal security of the United States, wrote that in early January, China hid the extent of the outbreak COVID-19, and greater risk of the virus to reduce exports and increase imports of medical goods.
Still, late quarantine measures made themselves felt. Very quickly the United States moved into first place in the world in the number of infected COVID-19. The figure is closer to 1.2 million infected people. And 30 April for a day in the United States the number of deaths from the coronavirus (2909) approached the number killed in the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001 (2996).
As a responsible China
Even before the first formal public accusations of Donald trump to the Chinese spokesman of the Chinese foreign Ministry Zhao Lijiang posted on Twitter a video where the Director for control and prevention of diseases of the USA Robert Redfield argued that some of the deaths from flu in the US, as it turned out, caused by a coronavirus. At what period this happened, Redfield said. However, Zhao Lijiang hinted that perhaps patient zero with COVID-19 was actually in USA and not in Wuhan.
2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation! pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020
“Center for control and prevention of diseases caught on the hot. When the United States appeared to find patient zero? How many people are infected? In any hospitals? Maybe the US army brought the epidemic to Wuhan? Be transparent. Publish your data. USA owes us explanations,” wrote Zhao Lijiang.
In response to the controversial tweet, the state Department summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the US for an explanation. But in mid-March on charges trump the representative of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of China Geng Shuang advised US to take care of their own Affairs:
“We urge the US to correct its mistake and stop groundless accusations of China”.
In mid-April spoke for the first time and in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In an interview with Chinese state television GGTN, Deputy Director of the yuan jiming said that the charges of States is a theory of a conspiracy to mislead the people, denying that the virus is man-made:
“The virus does not come from us. We have a strict regulatory regime and code of conduct of research”.
On the latest allegations trump and American intelligence, the official Beijing said wryly. First Chinese New China channel TV (official YouTube channel Chinese news Agency Xinhua), and then the Chinese Embassy in France, Twitter has launched an animated cartoon showing how the authorities in Beijing since December warned the world about the virus threat, and the US ignored it.
Once Upon a Virus… pic.twitter.com/FY0svfEKc6
— Ambassade de Chine en France (@AmbassadeChine) April 30, 2020
Recall that in early April in the Chinese city of Wuhan celebrated the victory over coronavirus:
All the details in a special topic Coronavirus
