COVID-19: China risks 'good relations' with UK as Boris Johnson faces pressure from allies

Call for a rethink of the relationship with China is growing loud in the United Kingdom after reports surfaced that the Communist country may have downplayed the official statistics. According to reports, allies of Prime Minister Boris Johnson have asked for an urgent reckoning of relationship with China over misinformation surrounding the pandemic. China is facing a lot of heat from the global community over the lack of transparency in data related to the coronavirus outbreak. 

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China facing criticism 

The United States had also alleged that China may have misreported the number of coronavirus cases in the country and also accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of favoritism and siding with Beijing over the crisis. The United Kingdom is the latest country to join the bandwagon against China. According to reports, a senior minister in the Boris Johnson government has said that if China does not clamp down on its 'wet' seafood markets, it risks becoming a pariah state. 

Read: US Accuses China Of Withholding Critical Coronavirus-related Information

Media reports suggest that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city of the Hubei province, which was the hotspot for the disease for a very long time before shifting its base to Europe. As per reports, the senior minister said that China's wildlife markets have always been viewed as a hub for pandemics and it needs to close immediately. 

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The shortage of medical equipment in the United Kingdom is also being blamed on China as reports suggest that the leaders of the Communist country bulk-bought face masks and other protective units that were kept for export. According to reports, JSP, a UK safety equipment firm's factories were taken over by the Chinese government to make respiratory protection equipment. 

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Boris Johnson is most likely to face pressure from groups to reverse plans to allow Huawei, a Chinese telecommunication giant, to build UK's 5G network. If official data from the Chinese government is to be believed, the country has contained the COVID-19 outbreak as it recorded just 45 cases on March 28, down from 54 the previous day.