Diplomat says China is 'seeking to deflect criticism' for its role in starting Covid-19 pandemic. FMTNews ChineseAmbassador Covid19 Coronavirus
March 14, 2020 8:40 AM
David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for Asia, issued a “stern representation” to Ambassador Cui Tiankai a day after foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted the conspiracy theory. Zhao, in tweets in both Mandarin and English that gained wide traction on Chinese social media, a day earlier suggested that “patient zero” in the global pandemic may have come from the United States – not the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, where cases were first reported in late 2019.
Cui, in contrast to Zhao, is known for his diplomatic approach. A day before he was summoned, Cui tweeted that China hoped to work closely with the United States to fight Covid-19 for “a more prosperous shared future”. “They know where it came from. We all know where it came from,” said Trump, who also voiced confidence that the row would not affect a first-phase deal to resolve a trade war.Conspiracy theories have been widely disseminated over social media as the novel coronavirus takes a heavy impact, with more than 5,300 people dead and 140,000 infected worldwide.
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