Trump Calls Novel Coronavirus ‘Chinese Virus’ After Secretary Pompeo Slams China For Spreading Outlandish Rumours

Amid the alleged attempt by Chinese authorities to shift blame for the Covid-19 outbreak, United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (17 March) referred to the novel Coronavirus, which originated in China’s Wuhan city, as Chinese virus.

“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!” Trump said in a tweet.

The development comes as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday (16 March) slammed China for spreading disinformation on the novel Coronavirus after an official in Beijing promoted a conspiracy theory on US involvement.

According to the US State Department, Pompeo called Yang Jiechi, a top foreign official in Beijing, and raised “strong objections” to Chinese efforts “to shift blame for Covid-19 to the United States”, reports Outlook.

Pompeo "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," a State Department statement said.

Earlier on Friday (13 March), the State Department had summoned the Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai, to denounce the promotion of the conspiracy theory regarding involvement of the US in the Covid-19 outbreak.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian took to twitter to suggest that "patient zero" in the global pandemic may have come from the United States -- not the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, where cases were first reported in late 2019.

"It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation," tweeted Zhao.