China slams US after Trump virus ‘attack’ claim

China accused the United States on Thursday of making an attempt to shift blame over the coronavirus, after President Donald Trump mentioned the pandemic was a worse “attack” than Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

Tension between the world’s two greatest economies has reached fever pitch in latest days as they’ve exchanged barbed feedback on one another’s dealing with of the virus.

“We urge the US side to stop shifting the blame to China and turn to facts,” mentioned overseas ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing.

On Wednesday Trump drew analogies with the virus, which emerged within the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan final 12 months, and notorious navy and terrorist assaults on the United States.

“This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had,” Trump informed reporters. “This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center.”

The Japanese assault on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii drew the United States into World War II.

The September 11, 2001 jihadist assaults on that killed about 3,000 folks and triggered twenty years of struggle.

Trump mentioned the coronavirus pandemic “should never have happened”.

“Could have been stopped at the source. Could have been stopped in China,” he mentioned.

Hua responded: “They might say the pandemic is comparable to Pearl Harbor or 9/11, but the enemy facing the US is the novel coronavirus”.

She mentioned Washington ought to “fight side-by-side” with Beijing as a substitute of as “enemies”.

Hua added that “lots of foreign countries, experts and scientists have all made positive comments on China’s effective virus prevention and control.”

“But the US alone has made some very disharmonious, untruthful and insincere remarks,” mentioned Hua.

The coronavirus, which first emerged in central China late final 12 months, has now killed greater than 73,000 folks within the US.

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