"The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus," Trump tweeted Monday night. Trump's allies had previously referred to the pandemic as the "Chinese coronavirus." The United States should "immediately stop its unjustified accusations against China," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. Yang issued a "stern warning to the United States that any scheme to smear China will be doomed to fail," Xinhua said in its summary of the call with Pompeo. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a Trump ally, has spoken of the "Chinese coronavirus" and in a recent statement vowed, "we will hold accountable those who inflicted it on the world."

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 17, 2020 09:45 UTC