China could face consequences if “knowingly responsible” for virus: Trump
PTI, Apr 19, 2020, 12:30 PM IST
Washington: US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that China could face consequences if it was “knowingly responsible” for the coronavirus pandemic.
“It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing. “And now the whole world is suffering because of it.”
Trump was asked whether China should suffer consequences over the pandemic which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has left more than 157,000 people dead around the world.
“If they were knowingly responsible, certainly,” he said. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake.
“But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, then there should be consequences,” Trump said.
US President Donald Trump said the coronavirus sweeping across the United States has peaked. Trump made the claim at a White House briefing on Saturday.
“Was it a mistake that got out of control or was it done deliberately?” he asked. “That’s a big difference between those two.
“In either event they should have let us go in,” he said. “We asked to go in early. And they didn’t want us in. I think they knew it was something bad and they were embarrassed.”
“They said they’re doing an investigation,” the president continued. “So let’s see what happens with their investigation. But we’re doing investigations also.”
The Trump administration has said it doesn’t rule out that the novel coronavirus was spread — accidentally — from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian — who previously alleged that the US military may have brought the virus into China — has rejected US media reports on the subject and said there is “no scientific basis.”
Trump also cast doubt on official Chinese figures showing the country has suffered just 0.33 deaths per 100,000 people.
“The number’s impossible,” he said. “It’s an impossible number to hit.”
The United States, according to a chart displayed at the briefing, has had 11.24 deaths per 100,000 people while France has had 27.92 and Spain 42.81.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar appointed as deputy prime minister
Elon Musk in Beijing amid efforts to promote Tesla’s autonomous driving tech
Retrial of Harvey Weinstein unlikely to occur soon, if ever, experts say
Three women from India killed in US car crash; their Gujarat village holds prayer meeting
China says talks on Tibet only with Dalai Lama’s representatives; rules out dialogue on autonomy
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
ISRO releases ISSAR 2023 report on vulnerability of space assets to collisions
Hunasagi: MLA Bairati Basavaraj’s car overturned
No CM can remain absent for long, it’s against national interest: Delhi HC on Kejriwal
Cricket for the Blind: A Transformative Journey Empowering Visually Impaired Athletes
China lifts restrictions, gives all clear nod for Tesla cars as Musk lobbies hard in surprise visit to Beijing