Chinese Media Fiercely Criticizes Pompeo for Mentioning 'Wuhan Virus'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] Chinese state media fiercely criticized U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for calling COVID-19 the "Wuhan Virus" and insisting that its origin is Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

On the 9th, Chinese state-run Global Times and the Global Times openly condemned Secretary Pompeo in editorials. The newspapers first reported the current status of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths in the U.S., stating that America's defense against COVID-19 is breaking down.

They added, "Instead of focusing energy on defending against COVID-19, American politicians are spending more effort blaming China and shifting responsibility," pointing out that "this behavior reflects a lack of confidence in the U.S. response to COVID-19." They also jabbed, "Secretary Pompeo represents an incompetent group of American politicians."

The newspapers stated, "Pompeo's 'Wuhan Virus' remarks ignore common sense and reveal America's malicious intent toward China," and criticized, "Despite China releasing detailed daily data on COVID-19, Pompeo's claim about China's incomplete data provision is an absurd assertion."

This editorial from Global Times targets Pompeo's public references to COVID-19 as the "Wuhan Virus" and his dissatisfaction with China's COVID-19 response.

On the 6th (local time), in an interview with U.S. CNBC, Pompeo sarcastically responded to the host's remark that China seemed somewhat successful in its response by saying, "We have to remember this is the Wuhan coronavirus." Regarding questions about the Chinese government's stance that China may not be the origin of COVID-19, he replied, "I am glad for the efforts China has made. But the claim that (the virus) came from Wuhan is none other than the Chinese Communist Party."

At a previous press conference, Pompeo also referred to COVID-19 as the "Wuhan Virus," provoking China by asserting that the origin has not yet been clearly identified.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.