Americans warned coronavirus not the worst threat from China

(Image courtesy Pixabay)

China has become more aggressive in its effort to blame the United States for the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, charged it was "extremely irresponsible" for media to say the virus originated in China, suggesting the U.S. Army brought it to Wuhan.

1/2 CDC Director Robert Redfield admitted some Americans who seemingly died from influenza were tested positive for novel #coronavirus in the posthumous diagnosis, during the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3

— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020

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2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. 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 an explanation! pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3

— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020

Then, President Trump's repeated reference to the "Chinese virus" prompted China's demand that the U.S. "correct the mistake immediately."

Now, Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, contends China's blame-America campaign shows communism is worse than the virus.

"China's communism is not an enemy. It is the enemy," he wrote. "After the coronavirus pandemic subsides, Americans should not forget Beijing's malicious campaign against their country."

He pointed out that the regime has been "trying to tar the Trump administration."

Trump noted at a White House press conference that the Chinese leaders "know where [the virus] came from."

Change wrote that it's worse "if Chinese officials in fact knew where the coronavirus originated."

"In this case, these officials, by going out of their way to blame the U.S., were demonstrating once again the inherent hostility of their system to America," he wrote.

That hostility has included China nationalizing an American factory making medical masks, and forcing a ship carrying masks, gloves and other protective gear to the United States to return to China.

The crisis undoubtedly will impact trade, he said.

Trump has insisted the recently signed first phase of the trade deal is still in effect.

"Trump's optimism is not shared in Beijing, however. China, using the epidemic as an excuse, is now pushing to change the agreement by deferring its purchase obligations, the heart of the arrangement as far as the U.S. is concerned," Chang wrote.

Ultimately, however, it may boost Trump's objective of bringing manufacturing back home.

"The president has evidently been thinking about these matters for a long time. On July 21, 2017, for instance, he issued his Executive Order on Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States. The Defense Industrial Base study, as it is known, exposed American vulnerabilities and led to actions to encourage manufacturing to return home. Trump can now use his sweeping powers granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to continue this essential process," he wrote.

Chang warned of the communist regime's willingness, however, to injure the innocent.

It has "demonstrated that it has, for instance, little reluctance to injure Americans," he said.

"China, as we now know, allowed the coronavirus to spread for six weeks in December and January before Xi publicly acknowledged the disease. So, it is no surprise that Americans — and the Chinese people, who are now demanding fundamental political change — realize that the real disease is communism."