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President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed the global response to the novel coronavirus in a phone call in which the two reportedly discussed easing tensions and pledged cooperation in the fight against the pandemic.

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday spoke over phone with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, on anti-epidemic cooperation and bilateral ties. Xi stressed that China has been sharing information on COVID-19 in an open, transparent and responsible manner with the World Health Organization (WHO) and countries including the United States since the onset of the epidemic. China, he said, wasted no time in releasing such information as the genetic sequence of the virus, and has also been sharing experience on COVID-19 prevention, containment and treatment without reservation, and providing as much support and assistance as it can...

A Chinese official questioned whether the U.S. Army "brought the epidemic to Wuhan" and demanded "an explanation" on Thursday. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, Lijian Zhao, made the post on his official Twitter account and included video of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testifying before Congress. "CDC was caught on the spot," Lijian wrote. "When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us...

Now that the number of new people infected with the coronavirus in China is slowing, the country's Communist Party is ratcheting up threats against the West, with a particularly nasty warning about access to life-saving drugs aimed at the United States. In an article in Xinhua, the state-run media agency that's largely considered the mouthpiece of the party, Beijing bragged about its handling of COVID-19, a virus that originated in Wuhan and has spread quickly around the world, killing nearly 5,000 people and infecting thousands more. The article also claimed that China could impose pharmaceutical export controls which would plunge...

White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro confirmed Wednesday the administration is working on an executive order to eliminate the government’s reliance on foreign-made medical supplies. The “Buy American” order comes on the heels of concerns expressed by senators during their Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill. [snip] The order would prevent federal agencies from purchasing medical supplies, including face masks, gloves and ventilators, from China. [snip] China has prevented the export of surgical face masks, severely limiting supplies in the U.S. and countries around the world. “China has managed to dominate all aspects...

The top Communist Party official in Wuhan suggested Saturday that the government conduct “gratitude education” to teach citizens how to properly thank the party and general secretary Xi Jinping for the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. “The people of Wuhan are heroic people who understand gratitude,” Wuhan party secretary Wang Zhonglin said in comments published by Changjiang Daily. “[We] must through various channels carry out gratitude education among the citizens of the whole city as well as cadres so that they thank the general secretary [Xi Jinping], thank the communist party, listen to the party’s words, follow the party’s...

The novel strain of coronavirus (officially dubbed COVID-19) that originated in Wuhan, China has spread to almost 30 countries, including regional neighbors like South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and countries as far away as the United States, Canada, and Brazil. As of February 26, more than 81,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, and the death toll has surpassed 2,700, mostly in China. The epicenter of the virus crisis, China, has been suffering socially and economically not only on account of the virus, but also because of the Chinese government’s problematic policies. The Chinese government has been working to tackle the...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said Filipino forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact. Duterte also said in a speech that he would stick to a decision made early in his presidency, when he was enraged by then-President Barack Obama’s criticism of his deadly anti-drug crackdown, that he will not travel to the United States. The brash Philippine leader has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising China and Russia since taking office in mid-2016 for a six-year term. U.S. President Donald...

Japan is to ask all schools to close from Monday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, PM Shinzo Abe says. The closure - thought to affect 13 million students - will continue until the school year ends in late March. World Health Organization head Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the global outbreak had now reached a "decisive point" and had "pandemic potential". For the second day running, more cases have been reported outside than inside China. Dr Tedros urged governments to act swiftly and aggressively to contain the virus. "This is not a time for fear. This is a time...

So much for having the coronavirus outbreak under control. While Xi Jinping’s government insists that they have turned the corner on the rapid spread of the disease, their actions tell another story. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party-controlled parliament will postpone its regular March session — a major blow for state propaganda efforts in more ways than one: China has postponed its most important political gathering as the country struggles to contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak that has spread to more than two dozen other nations.China’s top legislature approved a draft decision on Monday...

The Chinese regime is using “non-traditional collectors,” such as professors, researchers, and front companies — as opposed to traditional undercover spies - to acquire sensitive technology from the US. The Chinese regime is 'very proactive' acquiring U.S. research BEFORE it becomes classified,keep in mind with western democracies and in the U.S. in particular a lot of information that’s of use is not classified. This is 'a vulnerability that’s significant'...So essentially they’re obtaining vast amounts of data/information essentially legally, but because they are being very active and proactive, they access it either before it becomes classified or they access obscure information...

The deadly animal virus epidemic spreading globally may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory linked to China’s covert biological weapons program, according to an Israeli biological warfare expert.Radio Free Asia this week rebroadcast a local Wuhan television report from 2015 showing China’s most advanced virus research laboratory known the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Radio Free Asia reported. The laboratory is the only declared site in China capable of working with deadly viruses.Dany Shoham, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who has studied Chinese bio warfare, said the institute is linked to Beijing’s covert biological weapons program.“Certain laboratories in the institute...

China's Communist Party has infiltrated various levels of America's infrastructure and is working to destroy the values of the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a speech Saturday, while also warning state governors to be wary of China's infiltration. “We can’t ignore China’s actions and strategic intentions," he said while addressing the National Governors Association winter meeting. "The Chinese government has been methodical in the way it's analyzed our system... it's assessed our vulnerabilities and it's decided to exploit our freedoms, to gain an advantage over us at the federal level, the state level and the local...

A 35-year-old Washington, D.C., man visited an urgent care clinic on Jan. 19, a few days after returning from Wuhan, China. After undergoing testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that he had contracted the 2019-nCoV coronavirus—the first such case in the United States. Since surfacing in Wuhan in December, the 2019-nCoV coronavirus has spread to nearly 30 countries, killing 565 and infecting more than 28,000 worldwide. As of this writing, 12 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. Note that these numbers are changing almost every hour. As cases began to emerge within American borders, the Trump...

Copper traders in China, the world’s largest buyer of the metal, have asked miners from Chile to Nigeria to cancel or delay shipments as the deadly coronavirus outbreak hits demand. Multiple Chinese copper buyers said they had scrapped or postponed overseas orders by declaring force majeure since the end of January, when Beijing began to report a surge in coronavirus infections. Copper, a barometer for the health of the global economy, is the latest commodity to fall victim to the epidemic. China’s efforts to contain the virus, ranging from restricting highway traffic to extending the lunar new year holiday, have...

There are currently 2,493 confirmed cases worldwide, including 80 fatalities.

Weeks after switching on the machines of a new production line near Bangkok, veteran manufacturer Larry Sloven has a quip for the stream of companies leaving China: “Elvis has left the building.” After three decades of building up manufacturing bases in China, Sloven helped Capstone International Hong Kong, of which he is managing director, wind one down. Costs were rising before the trade war, but a 25 per cent tariff on the lighting products the company exports back to the United States helped accelerate a shift that was set in motion 18 months ago – moving its production base to...

Reconnaissance of a North Korean launch site indicates that Kim Jong-Un may be preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile, three U.S. intelligence officials who monitor North Korea in different agencies tell TIME. The intelligence comes ahead of a fast-approaching self-declared year-end deadline that Kim set in an April 12 speech for a nuclear deal with the U.S. In recent weeks, North Korea has reopened its Sohae Satellite Launching Station and resumed testing what U.S. intelligence officials and private experts suspect may be a solid fuel rocket engine that could be used in an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching...

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Fresh satellite imagery showed a 10-meter-long truck and a possible crane at North Korea's satellite launching site, U.S. experts said, amid concerns the communist nation could launch a long-range rocket from the site. Jack Liu, an expert on North Korea's missile program, and Peter Makowsky, an imagery analysis expert, said in an analysis on the website 38 North that continued activity was captured on satellite imagery taken Wednesday of the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, better known as the Dongchang-ri site. (Please see full article for details)

Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account @realDonaldTrump 7m7 minutes ago More We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder.... 1,041 replies2,432 retweets7,240 likes Reply 1.0K Retweet 2.4K Like 7.2K ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account @realDonaldTrump 8m8 minutes ago More .....The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the...