Xi Jinping issues first remarks on Trump testing COVID positive amid US-China tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping has wished a speedy recovery to US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump who have tested positive for COVID-19, Chinese state television reported on October 3. The US-China relations have been under a lot of strain due to the coronavirus pandemic and the blame game resulting from it. 

Several world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, immediately wished the couple for a speedy recovery but there has not been any communication from China until now. Earlier, Chinese state media had even mocked Trump after the US President announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

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'Paid the price'

The editor of a Chinese state-run media outlet said that they “paid the price for (Trump's) gamble to play down the COVID-19.” Taking to Twitter, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said that news of the first couple contracting the coronavirus shows the “severity” of the pandemic in the United States.

"It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection,” he concluded.

Earlier, Trump had informed that he is awaiting results from a COVID-19 test after one of his close advisors tested positive for the novel Coronavirus. After testing positive for COVID-19, the US President said that he will begin his quarantine and recovery process immediately with his wife. "We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump said. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus.

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