The US is increasing pressure on China. In the corona pandemic, US President Donald Trump is now openly threatening to cut ties. He would rather not talk to the Chinese president at the moment.
US-President Donald Trump has tightened the tone in the dispute with China over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and has threatened to break off the relationship. He did not want to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping “at the moment”, Trump told Fox Business on Thursday.
He was “very disappointed” about Beijing’s stance in the coronavirus pandemic. He has a “very good relationship” with Xi, but does not want to talk to him at the moment.
When asked about possible US retaliation against China, Trump did not take specific steps, but struck a threatening tone: “There are many things we could do. We could break all relationships. “ALSO READ
The Corona crisis has put a severe strain on the relationship between the two countries. The US president accuses Beijing of covering up the true extent of the epidemic at the beginning, thereby enabling the worldwide spread of the disease, which has cost 300,000 lives. The novel corona virus first became known in the central Chinese metropolis of Wuhan at the end of 2019.
The Chinese government rejects the allegations and states that it has provided the World Health Organization (WHO) with all information as soon as possible. In the interview with Fox Business, Trump stuck to his accusations: “You could have stopped (the virus) in China, where it came from. But that didn’t happen. “
Sanctions threatened
Trump had previously expressed suspicions that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan and had not spread from a wildlife market there, as has been widely assumed. He did not provide evidence of this allegation.
On that point, Trump even seemed to back down on Thursday. When asked for evidence, he said: “We have a lot of information. But you know, the worst of it all – whether the virus came from the laboratory or from bats – is that it came from China and they should have stopped it. “ALSO READ
The United States has already threatened China with sanctions for dealing with the corona pandemic. A group of Republican senators presented a bill Tuesday that would give Trump the power to impose punitive measures unless Beijing was “fully accountable” for the virus outbreak.
The U.S. government also accused China of using Internet hackers to steal research on possible corona vaccines and drugs.
The U.S. Federal FBI and Internet Security Agency said Wednesday that businesses and organizations had been warned of the danger that “the People’s Republic of China would likely target them and manipulate their network.”
Do not renegotiate
Trump also said he was not interested in renegotiating the trade deal with China signed in January. A state-owned Chinese newspaper previously reported that some government advisors in Beijing were pushing for new talks.
After nearly a year and a half of dispute, the two countries signed a first partial agreement under which China pledged to purchase an additional $ 200 billion in US goods over the next two years. Trump sparked the dispute because, among other things, he was disturbed by the United States’ large trade deficit with China.