China Uncomfortable with Continued US References to 'China Corona'

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] After the US-China Phase One trade agreement, the criticism of the United States by Chinese state-run media, which had been quiet, has recently intensified again due to the spread of COVID-19.

On the 12th, Chinese state-run newspapers Global Times and Huanqiu Shibao openly expressed their discomfort through criticism of American politicians over their repeated use of terms like 'China COVID' and 'Wuhan Virus' in their editorials.

On that day, the newspapers criticized Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House Majority Leader, for recently referring to COVID-19 as the 'Chinese coronavirus' on Twitter, and Senator Paul Gosar, also a Republican, for using the term 'Wuhan Virus' in another setting, pointing out that "most of the American politicians making such remarks are Republicans." In a report on the 9th, Huanqiu Shibao and Global Times also showed sensitivity by fiercely criticizing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who insists on calling COVID-19 the 'Wuhan Virus,' emphasizing its origin in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

The newspapers pointed out that "the Republican Party is conservative and racist," and noted that "as the virus spreads in the United States, there is a perceived need to shift responsibility to other countries."

They added, "American politicians intend to insult China and portray it negatively to increase dissatisfaction toward China, but this only reveals malicious political intentions and is ineffective," and stated, "China is not worth a serious diplomatic response. American politicians have provoked China in various ways in the past and will continue to do so in the future."

On the same day, Huanqiu Shibao also published another editorial addressing the global spread of COVID-19 and China's active response and assistance, stating, "China is dispatching experts to countries with COVID-19 outbreaks such as Iran, Iraq, and Italy, but there is Western public opinion that distorts this goodwill," expressing discomfort with the Western countries' perception of China.

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