- President Donald Trump has attacked China once again over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in his address to the United Nations General Assembly
- In his address, the U.S. President accused China of allowing the coronavirus to spread by lying about it and covering it up until it was too late
- He told the United Nations it needs to hold China accountable for COVID-19
- Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping urged nations to act in solidarity and work together to defeat the virus
- China’s Global Times, however, accused President Trump of trying to lead China-U.S. relations into a new cold war
President Donald Trump has attacked China once again over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
In a pre-recorded message played to the assembly due to social distancing restrictions, President Trump lambasted China for covering up the coronavirus until it was too late.
“In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world,” the U.S. President said.
“China condemned my travel ban on their country, even as they cancelled domestic flights and locked citizens in their home.”
He said the Chinese government lied about the virus by first claiming it could not be spread via human-to-human transmission and then by saying those without symptoms would not spread the disease.
“We have waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy — the China virus — which has claimed countless lives in 188 countries,” President Trump said.
“We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China,” he said.
President Trump also took a swing at China’s carbon emissions and pollution levels.
On top of this, President Trump told the United Nations that in order to be an effective organisation, it needs to shift its priorities.
“If the United Nations is to be an effective organization, it must focus on the real problems of the world,” he said.
“This includes terrorism, the oppression of women, forced labour, drug trafficking, human and sex trafficking, religious persecution, and the ethnic cleansing of religious minorities.”
China’s response and cold war fears
In his own pre-recorded address to the UN, Chinese President Xi Jinping remained calm and never mentioned Donald Trump by name, though he spoke to some of the points the U.S. President made.
“Facing the virus, we should enhance solidarity and get through this together,” President Jinping said.
“Any attempt of politicising the issue, or stigmatisation, must be rejected.”
He said Beijing has “no intention to fight either a cold war or a hot one with any country”.
He urged nations to follow the advice of the World Health Organisation as they navigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Of course, China’s Global Times — a state-owned tabloid — was far less subtle in criticising President Trump following the UN assembly.
“The U.S. is the biggest destroyer of the existing international system and rules, as seen from Trump’s rude UN speech,” a Global Times editorial piece said.
“Washington talked about world peace, but [the U.S.] has created unprecedented tensions in major power relations since the end of the Cold War, and is undisguised in its attempt to lead China-U.S. relations into a new cold war. Sound relations between major powers are the cornerstone of world peace,” the newspaper said.
President Trump’s latest remarks come as relations between the U.S. and China continue to sour. The United States has criticised China on a number of fronts over the past six months, including its sedition laws over Hong Kong and territorial claims in the South China Sea.