US President Donald Trump threatens to cut off whole relationship with China

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that his administration has asked for the withdrawal of billions of dollars in American pension fund investments in China and other similar actions are under consideration. Escalation of a war of words between Donald Trump and China over the coronavirus pandemic threatens to formalize a trade deal between the superpowers, Fox News says. Chinese state media have dismissed as “lunacy” reports attributing to the POTUS that he could “cut off relations” with Beijing. The US president said he was very disappointed with China’s failure to contain Covid-19 in an interview with Fox Business news. Trump said the pandemic has cast a pall over his January trade deal with Beijing and that he had no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping at the moment. The US and China relations have worsened following the coronavirus outbreak. The US has expressed disappointment over Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus. China has also been accused of stealing Intellectual Property and research work. “Billions of dollars, billions… Yeah, I pulled it back,” Trump said on Fox Business News on Thursday when asked about reports that the US had pulled out billions of dollars of American pension funds in Chinese investment. The president was asked whether he will force Chinese companies to follow all conditions for being listed at the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Chinese companies like Alibaba are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but they do not report earnings — the way an American company does, the interviewer said. The Financial Times says Trump has stepped his criticism of the Chinese government over the way it handled the disclosure of the virus and has suggested that Beijing would be forced to pay a price. Some political analysts say Trump has been under increasing pressure to take action against China as some lawmakers and opinion-makers feel that the COVID-19 spread across the world from Wuhan because of Chinese inaction. Trump did not explain what he meant by cutting off ties. But some officials want him to remove Chinese companies from US supply chains. The Chinese foreign ministry responded by urging the US “to abandon its cold war and zero-sum mentality”. (edited by PKC)

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