Prognosis
China Blasts U.S. Handling of Virus Pandemic as ‘Total Failure’
- Beijing’s early response gave the world time, government says
- China has had fewer deaths from virus, seen economy rebound
President Joe Biden visits a Covid-19 vaccination site in Washington, D.C., in March.
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg
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China criticized the way the U.S. handled the coronavirus as a “total failure,” escalating the war of words between the world’s two largest economies over the origins of the pandemic.
“The U.S. response to the epidemic can be described as a complete mess and total failure,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing Tuesday in Beijing. “China served as a crucial line of defense for the world and bought precious time for the global fight against the virus.”