Coronavirus: Trump does not rule out seeking redress from China

Text by: RFI Follow

Donald Trump spoke on Monday, April 27, of the possibility of asking Beijing to pay billions of dollars in reparations for the damage caused by the new coronavirus, which appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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"  We are unhappy with China  ", the disease "  could have been stopped at the source and would not have spread throughout the world  ". During his daily press briefing on the pandemic, which he had shunned for 24 hours , the American president launched a kind of counterattack, he who is in difficulty after having called to inject disinfectant to fight against the Covid-19. The tenant of the White House resumed his accusations against Beijing, in the tradition of a "war of words" where he already railed against the "  Chinese virus  " .

For weeks, Donald Trump has accused China of delaying informing the world about the extent of the disease and minimizing the number of deaths on its territory. His administration also said it did not rule out that the new coronavirus had been accidentally spread from a bat research laboratory in Wuhan . On April 18, Donald Trump had already warned China against possible "consequences" if it was "  knowingly responsible  " for the coronavirus pandemic.

"  Much more money  " than Germany

This time, the billionaire has taken his threats up a notch: China may have to pay. "  There are several ways to engage responsibility, we are conducting a very serious investigation  " on this subject, launched Donald Trump. The idea was inspired by a request from Germany. A journalist also questioned the president on an editorial in the German magazine Bild which asked Beijing to pay $ 165 billion in reparations to Berlin.

"  We are talking about a lot more money ," said the President. We have not yet determined the final amount, but it is very high. There has been damage not only in the United States, but worldwide.  "

On Monday, the United States recorded 988,197 confirmed cases of Covid-19 contaminations for 56,144 deaths, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University. The American economy is suffering cruelly from the containment measures taken to try to stem the pandemic.

"  We will never forget those people who were sacrificed because of incompetence, or perhaps something else, at a time when they could have protected the world,  " said the White House tenant.

Trump warned in January-February

Donald Trump's threats to China cannot, however, make him forget his inaction, even his denial at the start of the health crisis . It is the subject of a Washington Post investigation published Monday. The President has been repeatedly warned of the dangers of the new coronavirus in intelligence reports in January and February, the American daily reported.

These warnings, more than a dozen, included in secret documents known as the President's daily briefing, were issued at a time when Donald Trump was downplaying the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Washington Post cites as sources, without naming them, current and former members of the administration.

President did not read reports

For weeks, these daily briefings have traced the path and spread of the virus and warned that China is concealing information about the lethal capacity of the Covid-19 and its easy spread. The reports highlighted the extremely serious political and economic consequences of such a crisis, writes the Post.

Unidentified presidential entourage told the newspaper that Donald Trump did not read these kinds of documents and was irritated even when he had to listen to oral presentations.

The Republican president imposed travel restrictions between the United States and China in late January, but in February he continued to play down the severity of the threat. He waited until March 13 to declare a state of national emergency as the financial markets collapsed and the number of contaminations increased in New York.

► Read also: Coronavirus in the United States: Councilor Deborah Birx's increasingly palpable embarrassment

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