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Saturday, May 16, 2020

Did Australia’s call for an inquiry into China’s handling of the coronavirus provoke a Chinese rebuke?

William Boger, Gigafact Foundry
yes

Australia's Foreign Minister called for an independent global inquiry into China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, producing a sharp response from the Chinese ambassador to the country.

Cheng Jingye, in an interview with an Australian journalist, stated that the Chinese public is “frustrated, dismayed and disappointed” with the proposition of the independent inquiry. It was viewed as “teaming up with some forces in Washington” to play a “blame game,” he added. Should that be the case, he warned, Chinese citizens might choose to buy from, vacation in and send their kids to study in a country that wasn’t “hostile” to China. Through the interview, the ambassador also repeatedly expressed hopes that this would not be the case and that the two nations could work together to stop the virus.

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