US toughens stand against China, terminates relationship with WHO

As US continues its tough stance against China as it blames the latter for the deaths and destruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe, President Donald Trump on Friday announced several measures against China.  

Trump said that an entry ban would be imposed on certain Chinese nationals deemed as potential threat and regulations against Chinese investments in America will be more stringent.

Reiterating his charges against China, Trump said, "For decades it has ripped off the US like no one has ever done before, China not only stole intellectual property, took away billions of dollars from the US and offshored the jobs, but also violated its commitment under the World Trade Organization." 

"The United States wants an open and constructive relationship with China, but achieving this relationship requires us to vigorously defend our national interest," he added.

Announcing that the US will end special treatment of Hong Kong and that it will revise its travel advisory to warn of surveillance in response to China's imposition of new controls. 

"China has unlawfully claimed territories in the Indo-Pacific ocean, threatening freedom of navigation and international trade and broke its word to the world on ensuring the autonomy of Hong Kong," Trump said.

"China's latest incursion, along with other recent developments that degraded the territory's freedoms, makes clear that Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment that we have afforded the territory since the handover," he said.

Accusing the World Health Organisation of helping China cover up in the aftermath of the cornavirus, Trump decalred that the US was terminating its relationship with the (WHO).

"We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engage with them directly, but they have refused to act and so today we will be terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs," Trump said.

China, he said, has total control over the WHO despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the US has been paying which is approximately USD 450 million a year.