Coronavirus: US President Donald Trump rules out second phase trade deal with China amid COVID-19 outbreak

By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 11, 2020, 11:40 AM IST

Meanwhile, the US welcomed WHO’s decision to trace the origins of coronavirus in China as it sent two of its experts to Beijing on July 10

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has for the time being ruled out a second phase trade deal with China, saying the relationship between the two countries has been severely damaged with Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

“The relationship with China has been severely damaged. I don't think about it now," Trump told reporters on Friday from Air Force One when asked about the trade deal.

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Earlier in the year, the Trump administration had signed a mega phase one deal with China, after intense negotiations between the two countries.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have spiralled downward since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. US President Donald Trump has questioned the Asian powerhouse's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two countries have also sparred over China imposing a new national security law in Hong Kong, restrictions on American journalists, treatment of Uyghurs Muslims and security measures in Tibet.

“Relationship with China has been severely damaged. They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, (but) they didn't stop it. They stopped it from going into the remaining portions of China from Wuhan province. They could have stopped the plague, they didn't," Trump said.

The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city, has claimed over 1,30,000 lives in the US with 3.1 million confirmed cases. The virus toll in China stands at 4,641 with nearly 85,000 confirmed infections.

Meanwhile, the US welcomes the World Health Organization's (WHO) probe into the origins of the novel coronavirus in China, its ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Friday.

"We welcome the WHO's investigation. We view the scientific investigation as a necessary step to having a complete and transparent understanding of how this virus has spread throughout the world," ambassador Andrew Bremberg told reporters.

It was an unexpected endorsement, given that the WHO has faced fierce US criticism over its handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Earlier Friday, an epidemiologist and an animal health specialist from the WHO left for China to try and identify the animal source of the new coronavirus pandemic.

The WHO said the advance team would be in Beijing for the weekend as they lay the groundwork for a wider mission aimed at identifying how the virus jumped from animal to humans.

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