US-China relations worsen as world battles coronavirus pandemic

Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, two superpowers, the United States and China are experiencing one of the worst phases of their relationship. US diplomats and their family members were evacuated from China in February during a global health crisis caused due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to reports, the withdrawal of US diplomats was one of the largest peacetime evacuations in history.

Worsening relations

As per reports, several US missions and consulates in Shenyang, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou are operating with on 20 to 30 per cent staff. The staff that is working there are local Chinese. Even with the thousands of deaths, the coronavirus has caused across the globe, the United States and China have continued to be at loggerheads with each other.

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US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed China for the severity of the virus and for not giving adequate warning of the deadly virus. He has also referred to the virus as the ‘Chinese virus’ several times.

As per reports, some Chinese officials have claimed that the virus was an invention of the United States and that it was planted in China. Many people have recalled that theses defamation tactics were widely used during the pre-cold war days.

‘Disappointed’

US President Donald Trump has criticised China for being ‘very secretive’ about the coronavirus outbreak. According to reports, Trump has also claimed that the United States and the world would have better prepared if China had given the world ‘advanced warning’ about the impending crisis. Trump made the comments during a press conference on March 21.

As per reports, Trump has denied reports that US intelligence had not been warned about the coronavirus in January and February. Trump further claimed that America only found out about the virus when it came out publicly. President Trump claimed that China was not at all a beneficiary of the coronavirus epidemic and that they had gone through hell but he wishes that China would have been more open and shared information about the virus earlier.

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