From ‘respect’ to ‘sick and twisted’: How coronavirus hit US-China ties | via nytimes
“Evil.” “Lunacy.” “Shameless.” “Sick and twisted.” China has hit back at US criticism over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic with an outpouring of vitriol as acrid as anything seen in decades.
The clash with the United States over the pandemic is fanning broader tensions on trade, technology, espionage and other fronts — disputes that could intensify as President Donald Trump makes his contest with Beijing a theme of his reelection campaign.While the hostility has so far been mostly confined to words, there are warning signs the relationship could worsen.
Only weeks ago, Xi and Trump spoke by telephone and proclaimed their unity in the face of the coronavirus. Trump declared his “respect” for Xi, and Xi told him that countries had to “respond in unison” against a global health emergency. “I have a very good relationship, but I just — right now I don’t want to speak to him,” Trump said of Xi on Thursday. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Zhao Lijian, brushed aside Trump’s threat to sever relations, saying Friday that the two countries should cooperate.
“Such lunacy is a clear byproduct, first and foremost, of the proverbial anxiety that the US has suffered from since China began its global ascension,” Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, said Friday of Trump’s comments. “It is also a combination of envy and panic on behalf of Washington elites.”
“Everything Mr. Pottinger has done is like a weasel pretending to offer New Year’s greetings to a chicken,” said a response on CCTV to his speech. Other hawks have warned that China needs to be prepared to deal with clashes over Taiwan and the South China Sea, where US warships have stepped up patrols this year. Some hard-liners have gone further, warning of war.
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