China has reacted angrily after US President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as “Chinese”.
Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the tweet amount to “stigmatisation of China”.
“We urge the US to correct its mistake and stop its groundless accusations against China,” he added.
China’s official news agency, Xinhua, said Mr Trump’s language was “racist and xenophobic” and revealed “politicians’ irresponsibility and incompetence”, risking increasing fears over the virus.
There was also criticism from within the US, with New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio saying the phrase risked “fuelling more bigotry” against Asian-Americans.
The first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
However, last week a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman shared a conspiracy theory, alleging the US Army had brought it to the region.
The unfounded accusation led US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to demand China stop spreading “disinformation” as it tried “to shift blame” for the outbreak.
_____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2020 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant source.
