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The United States accused Beijing of failing to alert the world to the severity of the coronavirus outbreak (Archive)
Washington:
United States President Donald Trump noted a further deterioration in his relationship with China over the new coronavirus, saying he has no interest in talking to President Xi Jinping at this time and even suggesting that he might even cut ties with the second largest economy in the world.
In an interview with the Fox Business Network broadcast on Thursday, Trump said he was very disappointed that China did not contain the disease and that the pandemic had shelved its January trade deal with Beijing, which it had previously hailed as an important achievement.
“They should never have let this happen,” Trump said. “So I make a great commercial deal and now I say it doesn’t seem the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came. And it doesn’t seem the same to me.”
President Trump’s pique spread to President Xi, with whom the President of the United States has repeatedly said he has a good relationship.
“But I just don’t want to talk to him right now,” Trump said in the interview, which was taped Wednesday.
Trump was asked about a Republican senator’s suggestion that American students who apply to study in fields related to national security, such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence, be denied US visas.
“There are many things we could do. We could do things. We could cut the whole relationship,” he replied.
“Now if you did, what would happen? You would save $ 500 billion,” Trump said, referring to estimated annual US imports. USA From China, which is often referred to as lost money.
The comment provoked ridicule from Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China’s influential tabloid newspaper Global Times, who referred to Trump’s much-criticized comments last month about how coronavirus disease COVID-19 could be treated.
“This president once suggested that COVID-19 patients inject disinfectants,” Hu said on Twitter. “Remember this and you won’t be surprised when he said he could cut the entire relationship with China.”
Trump and his Republican supporters have accused Beijing of failing to alert the world to the severity and extent of the coronavirus outbreak, which has sparked a strong global recession and threatened its chances for reelection in November.
The United States has been the most affected by the pandemic, according to official data.
China insists that it has been transparent and, amid increasingly bitter exchanges, both sides have questioned the future of the trade deal.
Opponents of Trump have said that while China has much to answer for in the outbreak, it appears to be seeking to divert attention from criticism of its response to the crisis.
‘DANGEROUS BRAVADO’
Scott Kennedy of the think tank at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies called Trump’s remarks “dangerous bravado.”
“Avoiding communication is not an effective strategy to resolve a crisis that requires global cooperation. And severing the economic relationship would seriously harm the American economy,” he said.
Under Phase 1 of the trade agreement, Beijing promised to buy at least $ 200 billion in additional goods and services from the US. USA For two years, while Washington agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese products in stages.
China took a few additional steps toward those goals on Thursday, buying American soybean oil for the first time in nearly two years, and issuing customs notices allowing the importation of American barley and blueberries.
An executive with China’s state agriculture trading house, COFCO, said China was prepared to accelerate purchases of US agricultural products to implement the Phase 1 deal.
The Global Times said Thursday that Beijing was seeking to compartmentalize mounting tensions with Washington.
“(China) still hopes that economic and trade problems will not be politicized because that is not good for either side,” said Li Yong, vice chairman of the Committee of Experts of the China Association for International Trade.
While the US intelligence agencies. USA They have said that the coronavirus does not appear to be man-made or genetically modified, rejecting a theory promoted by some Trump supporters, Trump said in his interview that China should have stopped it at its source.
“Whether from the lab or from the bats, it all came from China, and they should have stopped it,” he said.
“It got out of control.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
