China, in his words · First term · № 79
Told the UN General Assembly that China must be held accountable for the pandemic
“As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China. In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically, while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world.”
- Said
- , Videotaped remarks to the United Nations General Assembly
- Subject
- COVID-19 accountability
- Threat
- Other
- Topic
- COVID-19
- Era
- First term
What the record showed
On January 24, 2020 he had tweeted that the United States 'greatly appreciates' China's 'efforts and transparency' on the virus and thanked President Xi. In the same UN speech he said the World Health Organization was 'virtually controlled by China'; the withdrawal notice his administration gave on July 6, 2020 was retracted on January 20, 2021, and he ordered withdrawal again on January 20, 2025. After meeting Xi on October 30, 2025 he rated the meeting 'a 12' on a scale of 0 to 10. The White House fact sheet on the resulting deal lists commitments on fentanyl precursors, rare earths, soybeans and tariffs.
Sources
- Videotaped Remarks to the United Nations General Assembly
- Tweets of January 24, 2020
- Executive Order 14155—Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization
- Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One En Route to Anchorage, Alaska
- White House Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Strikes Deal on Economic and Trade Relations with China