U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, USA, July 15, 2020.
Andrew Harnik | Reuters
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he believes the world will make China “pay a price” for the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think the world will absolutely pay them a price,” said the nation’s top diplomat during a virtual event with The Hill.
“Every place I go, every foreign minister I speak to, they recognize what China has done to the world. I am very confident that the world will look at China differently and engage with them in fundamentally different ways than how they did it before this catastrophic disaster, “Pompeo said.
The Trump administration for months has hinted that the United States would take steps to punish China for failing to prevent the deadly virus, which was first seen in the Chinese city of Wuhan, from spreading across the world.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed legislation to impose sanctions on China in response to his interference with Hong Kong’s autonomy. However, two sources told CNBC’s Kayla Tausche that Trump plans to suspend the sanctions for now due to concerns of a worsening relationship with China.
Pompeo also accused China on Wednesday of working with the World Health Organization to minimize the growing coronavirus crisis. Earlier this month, the Trump administration presented its notice to withdraw from the World Health Organization before July 6, 2021, a senior administration official confirmed to CNBC.
“When you have an incident in your country that could lead to a pandemic, you have an obligation to report it and allow others to come in and help you be transparent about it. The Chinese Communist Party chose differently, they co-opted the World Organization of the Health to achieve that cover-up, “said Pompeo.
“The result today is that we have hundreds of thousands of people who have died and billions of dollars in global damages as a direct result of the decision of the Chinese Communist Party.”
WHO has defended its management of the pandemic.
According to the Johns Hopkins University count, more than half a million people worldwide died from the virus, and the United States reported more deaths and Covid-19 infections than any other nation.
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