The Chinese ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang on Friday slammed calls for China to bear the responsibility of the coronavirus pandemic, describing the sentiment as “ridiculous” and “anti-China”.
“We have noticed that some anti-China forces in the international community have recently claimed that China must bear responsibility for the outbreak of the new coronavirus, and demanded compensations from China. A few people from Egypt also made similar false accusations against China on their websites. These ridiculous sayings are baseless,” Liao said in a statement.
An Egyptian lawyer from Gharbiya Governorate filed a lawsuit earlier in April against China, demanding compensation of US$10 trillion for the damages caused to Egypt by the coronavirus.
Egypt on Friday confirmed 17 additional deaths and 95 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s number of confirmed total cases so far to 1,794.
A hundred and thirty-five people have died from the virus in Egypt.
“The fact that some have drawn attention by demanding this so-called ‘compensation from China’ raises only irony and mockery, without any impact on the deep traditional friendship that unites China and Egypt,” Liao stressed.
“We are sure that China and Egypt can overcome the virus as soon as possible and contribute to safeguarding public health in the whole world,” he added.
The roots of friendship between China and Egypt run deep in history, he said, adding that the government and people can work in solidarity to tackle this outbreak.
“Some anti-China forces are currently taking advantage of the new coronavirus issue to stigmatize China and mislead public opinion by fabricating and promoting rumors, which only undermines international cooperation and undermines global confidence in fighting the emerging coronavirus,” Liao added.
“China was the first country to report a new outbreak of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization, but this does not mean that the virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Slandering others cannot eradicate the virus. Any attempt to discredit China and harm its interests will never succeed,” he said.
Laio added that the United Nations and the World Health Organization both affirm that the coronavirus is a common enemy of humanity and that no country should be stigmatized by this virus.
They have also expressed appreciation for China’s contributions and immense sacrifices towards combating this global epidemic, he said.
