US contemplating retaliatory measures against China for poor handling of COVID outbreak

US officials from different agencies are scheduled to meet on May 1 to decided on a strategy to take retaliatory measures against China for its poor handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The international community, including the US President Donald Trump, has accused China of not handling the initial outbreak effectively and slammed the World Health Organisation (WHO) for siding with the Communist state. 

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According to reports, US officials are contemplating stripping China of its 'sovereign immunity' and are aiming to enable the US government or victims to sue the East Asian country for damages. George Soria, a former top executive in the Trump administration, who is one of the men behind chalking the strategy to hold China accountable. Donald Trump also indicated on May 1 that the US is looking at options to take retaliatory measures against China.

On April 27, Donald Trump had said that the United States will be going to seek hundreds of billions of dollars in damages from China, adding that he is considering additional measures to punish Beijing.

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Donald Trump on Thursday also said that the United States has evidence to prove that the virus actually originated from a lab in China, adding fuel to the rumours that have been doing rounds since the outbreak. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson and his government have also called for an independent inquiry into China's handling of the disease outbreak. Chinese foreign ministry while responding to Canberra's demand issued the threat of 'economic coercion' as it enjoys the status of Australia's largest trading partner. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The virus outbreak that started in China's Wuhan city spread across continents in just one month forcing the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare it a pandemic. Health experts believe that the coronavirus originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. According to data by worldometer, over 3.33 million people have been infected by the disease globally, of which 2,35,000 have lost their lives. 

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(Image Credit: AP)