The return of baseball bat diplomacy? Donald Trump no longer wishes to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The American president criticizes China for the heavy toll of the Covid-19 - nearly 300,000 deaths worldwide - which could have been avoided if the country had acted responsibly from the onset of the virus.
In an interview with Fox Business broadcast Thursday, he said he was "very disappointed" with Beijing's attitude and rejected the idea of talking directly with his counterpart to ease tensions. "I have a very good relationship [with him] but at the moment I don't want to talk to him," he said.
Asked about the various retaliatory measures he envisaged, Donald Trump, who in recent days has talked about the possible introduction of punitive customs taxes, was both evasive and threatening. “There are a lot of things we could do. We could break off all relationships, ”he said.
Beijing says it has all the info at the WHO and the United States
"If we did, what would happen? ", He continued. "We would save $ 500 billion if we broke off all relations," said the republican billionaire, who is used to warning without warning.
"What has happened to the world and to our country is very sad, all these deaths," continued Donald Trump, criticized in the United States for his lack of empathy towards the victims. "They could have stopped [the virus] in China, where it came from. But it did not happen like that, "said the American president, who will run for a second term on November 3 and had made the health of the economy one of his main campaign arguments.
Beijing claims to have transmitted all the information as quickly as possible to the World Health Organization (WHO) and to other countries, including the United States.
"China continues to silence scientists," asserts Mike Pompeo
The two largest economic powers in the world are engaged in a verbal escalation with an uncertain outcome. "While the United States and its allies coordinate for a collective, transparent response to save lives, China continues to silence scientists, journalists and citizens and to spread disinformation," said Mike Pompeo on Thursday, head of American diplomacy.
Senators from his Republican camp, very upset against Beijing, presented a bill on Tuesday that would give the president the power to impose sanctions on China if it did not transparently help to shed light on the origin of disease.
"American defamation"
Washington on Wednesday accused Beijing of trying to hack into US research into a vaccine for the new coronavirus. "China's attempts to target the [health and research] sectors pose a serious threat to our country's response to Covid-19," said the FBI.
Our file on the coronavirus
Beijing immediately denounced this "American defamation". “China is at the forefront of research into vaccines and treatment against Covid-19. As a result, she has more reason than anyone to be wary of the theft of information on the Internet, ”said Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Asked about any evidence he would have to demonstrate that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan, Donald Trump was Thursday much less categorical than in the past, even seeming to backtrack. “We have a lot of information. […] But you know, worst of all, whether the virus came from the laboratory or from the bats, it came from China and they should have stopped it. "
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