China is open to international cooperation to identify the source of the novel coronavirus but any investigation must be free of political interference, China's foreign minister said on Sunday. Wang Yi blasted what he called efforts by US politicians to fabricate rumors about the pathogen's origins and stigmatize China.
The Chinese virology institute in the city where COVID-19 first emerged has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world, its director has said.
The US government on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for US airlines to resume service to China and ordered four Chinese air carriers to file flight schedules with the US government. The administration of President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing restrictions on Chinese air carriers but said talks with China had failed to produce an agreement.
Oil prices slumped on Friday after China's decision to omit an economic growth target for 2020 renewed concerns that the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will continue to depress fuel demand in the world's second-largest oil user.
China's defense spending this year will rise 6.6% from 2019, according to a report issued at the opening of the country's annual meeting of parliament on Friday, a slower rate than last year.
The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that could prevent some Chinese companies from listing their shares on U.S. exchanges unless they follow standards for U.S. audits and regulations.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again lashed out at China over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for “mass Worldwide killing.” His morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified “wacko in China,” was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a centerpiece of his November re-election bid.
The World Health Organization bowed to calls on Monday from most of its member states to launch an independent probe into how it managed the international response to the coronavirus, which has been clouded by finger-pointing between the U.S. and China over a pandemic that has killed over 300,000 people and leveled the global economy.
Australia is disappointed China has imposed massive tariffs on its barley and will consider taking the dispute to the World Trade Organization, the country's agriculture minister said on Tuesday.
In the first four months of this year, Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled US$31.40 billion, marking a 5.9% increase year-on-year. The growth of agribusiness exports resulted in an increase in volumes 11.1%, while the index price suffered a drop of 4.7%.