Donald Trump renewed his criticism of China at the UN general assembly on Tuesday, calling on its members to hold Beijing responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Trump, giving his remarks by video, claimed the US was engaged in a “great global struggle” to end what he disparagingly termed “the China virus”. Nearly 200,000 people in the US have died, and 6.8m infections have been registered to date — more than a fifth of global cases, even though the US comprises only 4 per cent of the world’s population.
“We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague on to the world: China,” Mr Trump told the assembly, one of several international organisations where Beijing has sought to increase its influence in recent years.