China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday asked India not to use the term “China Virus” or “Wuhan Virus” while refering to COVID-19, which is likely to have originated in Wuhan.
Beijing recently engaged in a spat with United States over the origin of the virus. The US President Donald Trump has been addressing it as “Chinese Virus” and blamed China for covering up the outbreak.
China’s Ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted that the foregin ministers of both countries discussed over the phone and Dr S Jaishankar (India’s External Affairs Minister) “agreed not to label the virus and the international community should send strong signal of solidarity.”
Wang Yi said it’s not acceptable and detrimental to international cooperation to label the virus and stigmatise China, hope India oppose such narrow mindset. Dr. Jaishankar agreed not to label the virus and the international community should send strong signal of solidarity.
— Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) March 24, 2020
Discussed with State Councilor and FM Wang Yi of #China our working together in combating #COVID19. Agreed to build further on our bilateral efforts in this domain. Exchanged views on the forthcoming #G20 Summit.
Global challenges require global cooperation.— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 24, 2020
Earlier, on March 12, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian alleged that the virus was an American creation brought to their country by the US Army.
Meanwhile, #ChineseVirus is trending on Twitter with many blaming China for the cover-up. Some users have cited pieces of evidence that the virus began in November and China did not tell the world till late January.
The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a seafood market in China’s Wuhan city. The virus has killed over 3,000 people in China and nearly 19,000 worldwide. It has spread to 168 countries and has infected more than 4 lakh people.
