U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo reacts to China

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo warned his Chinese counterpart against spreading rumors regarding the coronavirus. U.S. Secretary of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus stated that Secretary Pompeo strongly opposed China’s statement that the coronavirus originated in the United States. 

“The Secretary stressed that this is not the time to spread disinformation and outlandish rumors, but rather a time for all nations to come together to fight this common threat,” Spokesperson Ortagus said in a readout of the call.

Additionally, before this statement, Secretary Pompeo posted on Twitter that the Chinese government is spreading false information and outlandish rumors.

“Spoke today with Director  Jiechi about disinformation and outlandish rumors that are being spread through official PRC channels,” Secretary Pompeo added.

A diplomatic note to China

State Department official confronts China’s ambassador about disinformation and announced that the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S.  was summoned and has been given a diplomatic note. Though he avoided making any comments, Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai has met with Deputy Secretary David Stillwell.

In addition, National Security Council Advisor Robert O’Brien claimed that an initial cover-up of the coronavirus in China “cost the world community two months” and exacerbated the global outbreak. A week ago at Heritage Foundation, O’Brien also added, “I think we could have dramatically curtailed what happened in China and what’s now happening across the world.”

Former Air Force General Rob Spalding also had an interview at TRT World and stated that “It is a pattern of propaganda that the Chinese Communist Party executes daily and  Clearly, they know that this was not originated by the U.S. Army. The army was not in Wuhan. The Chinese have pretty strict border control . . . .”

What Happened?

While the coronavirus is assumed to have spread from a wild animal market in Wuhan city of Hubei Province, China, the use of the term “Wuhan virus” by U.S. officials in recent days drew the attention of Chinese officials. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian claimed in a tweet that “the U.S. army could be behind the virus.”

The Chinese Government has started pointing at the U.S. as the cause of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese authorities have recently protested U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo for calling the virus the “Wuhan virus” and President Trump for claiming the virus is an “outbreak that originated from China.”