Published 01:28 IST, May 15th 2020
Trump threatens to 'cut off the whole relationship' with China over COVID-19 crisis
US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack targeting China on Thursday, May 14 as he threatened to put a complete end to US-China ties over COVID-19.
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US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack targeting China on Thursday, May 14 as he threatened to put a complete end to US-China ties over latter's alleged reluctance in sharing full information regarding COVID-19.
Trump was speaking to Fox Business News when he said that cutting off ties with China would save m $500 billion reiterating his earlier accusation that Communist state is 'ripping off' United States in tre deficits. When asked if he has spoken to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about it, Trump said, "I have a very good relationship, but right w I don't want to speak to him."
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COVID-19 Blame Game
Trump ministration has been long attacking China over its handling of initial outbreak, sometimes directly and at or times using World Health Organisation (WHO) as a medium.
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo h earlier claimed that country has eugh evidence to prove COVID-19 contagion emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan and that it is t natural, without mentioning wher release of disease was deliberate.
Trump during interview also ded to Pompeo's assertions saying when United States offered to help Chinese authorities y simply denied ding, "so it was eir stupidity, incompetence or deliberate."
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Trump ministration has been blocking US federal retirement funds from investing in Chinese equities, according to reports. In a letter acquired by Fox Network, Trump's national security viser Robert O’Brien and National Ecomic Council Chair Larry Kudlow have written to US Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia stating that White House does t want Thrift Savings Plan, a federal employee retirement fund, to invest in Chinese equities as it would expose funds to 'significant and unnecessary ecomic risk'.
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Trump has also said that he will look into legislation introduced in Senate on Tuesday that proposes sanctions on China, in response to Beijing's unwillingness in sharing full information regarding outbreak.
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COVID-19 Crisis in US
United States is currently worst affected country in world with over 1.4 million cases of infections and more than 86,000 deaths, as per figures on Worldometer website. As Trump is keen on reopening US' ecomy and get businesses going as usual, he is also facing a lot of criticism over his ministration's handling of outbreak.
As per reports, a 'Trump death clock' was put up on Times Square building recently, creator of which said that it shows number of lives that could have been saved if president acted early.
On or hand, China has blamed US government for diverting public attention by suggesting that virus originated from a Wuhan lab calling it ir inefficiency in handling outbreak. Health experts believe that virus emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan, where exotic animals were reportedly being tred illegally. WHO has called US' claim 'speculative' saying that country is yet to provide any evidence over virus origin.
(Im Credit: AP)
01:28 IST, May 15th 2020