The tensions between China and the United States came to the fore of the annual UN General assembly session in New York on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump blaming the government in Beijing for the spread of the novel coronavirus across the world.
Meanwhile, his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, said that Beijing has no intention to get in the cold war with any country. In recent months, the relations between the two nuclear-armed countries have escalated over a series of issues, including the trade war, pandemic, treatment of the Uighur minority, and the situation in Hong Kong.
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This year’s New York summit is being held almost virtually, with world leaders providing pre-recorded speeches. Unlike the previous sessions, under the new format, the geopolitical theater was absent at the key United Nations meeting.
The Republican president used his address to tout his administration’s achievements and tear into his rival as often is the case for the speeches to the assembly. He further added that the world must hold Beijing accountable for unleashing the plague.
Moreover, he said that Beijing imposed a lockdown domestically in the early days of the outbreak but allowed international flights to leave the country and infect the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Trump, whose own response to the pandemic is under severe scrutiny just days ahead of the presidential poll as the country hits 200,000 coronavirus related fatalities, which is almost 20 percent of the global deaths.
However, Trump has continuously blamed Beijing for covering up the outbreak, arguing that they could have curbed the further spread of the virus. But China categorically denied the allegations as baseless and called the attacks an unfounded attraction.
Soon after President Trump, the Chinese leader, addressed the assembly and warned of the risks of a possible clash of civilizations. Xi further added, “We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation. We will not seek to develop only ourselves or engage in a zero-sum game.”
António Guterres, the UN General Secretary, opened the assembly and, without naming any country, said that the world must do everything to avoid the new cold war. He added that there is no room for self-interest in the face of the pandemic.
