China denounces act on coronavirus-related sanctions proposed by US senator

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the media at a NATO news conference in Brussels, Belgium. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

BEIJING, May 13, 2020, CGTN. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday denounced the COVID-19 Accountability Act introduced by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham that would grant US President Donald Trump the authorization to “impose sanctions on China if China fails to cooperate and provide a full accounting of the events leading up to the outbreak of COVID-19,” CGTN reported.

Nine influential US senators have introduced a legislation in Congress seeking to authorise President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on China if it fails to cooperate in providing a full accounting of the events leading up to the outbreak of the coronavirus.The COVID-19 Accountability Act, authored by Senator Lindsay Graham and co-sponsored by eight others, was introduced in the Senate – the upper chamber of Congress, on Tuesday (May 12), PTI reported, according to The Economic Times.

Zhao said that the legislation overlooked the facts. It is immoral and is an effort to blame China for the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

China has always been transparent in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and has worked closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), said Zhao. The world has seen China’s contribution to containing the global pandemic.

He also clarified during the press briefing that there are no so-called “wildlife wet markets” in China. “China has some live poultry markets, farmers’ markets, or seafood markets, which are not banned by international law,” he said.

Noting that these markets in China are not wildlife markets, Zhao said China has started legislating on banning the illegal hunt, trade, transportation, or consumption of wildlife.

Zhao urged the U.S. administration to stop attacking China and instead focus on protecting the safety of its own citizens and contribute more to global cooperation in controlling the virus.

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