Beijing goes no-holds barred with “diplomatic” push back against any criticism of its handling of the outbreak to proactively rebuff efforts to hold it financially accountable.
NYTIMES China is pushing back against the growing chorus of voices around the world calling for the country to pay compensation for the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
American Politicians in the United States are “lying through their teeth,” a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
The spokesman’s comments came one day after President Trump suggested that the United States would seek “substantial” compensation for Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. See rest here
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Quick editorial thought from China Decoupling:
China, in CD‘s humble opinion, stumbled upon an excellent bit of “lightening in a red lantern” (sorry for the mixed metaphor) when they created their Belt and Road initiative to assist developing nations with money, which includes one G20 country, Italy, who recently accepted their lucre.
China has even extended their reach and influence into our own hemisphere down in Panama, with $4billion in assistance to build infrastructure projects. These are staggering investment and expenditure figures for that region. The US’s somnambulistic approach in Panama needs to be reversed and the Sino influence needs to be rebuffed.
But, China’s recalcitrant reaction to demands for compensation due to coronavirus damages may evince an overreach by Beijing. Chinese diplomatic protestations regarding the Trump administration calling China out (along with other nations joining the US, including Spain, Italy, and even India) regarding their grossly negligent conduct by laboratory staff in Wuhan, as well as China’s own refusal to even acknowledge fault regarding the Chinese virus’s escape and rapid acceleration around the globe, has caused the ire of some of these very same countries receiving generous amounts of Belt and Road money.
Bad conduct by bad actors always breeds contempt. Yesterday’s sweaty wads of cash in Italy won’t wipe clean today’s Chinese pandemic taking the lives of nonna and zia in Milano.
