US senator calls China’s threat over coronavirus bill a ‘badge of honour’

Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, says he’s not backing down over draft legislation that would allow Americans to sue Chinese government

State tabloid Global Times had cited sources saying Beijing was considering punitive measures against US politicians and companies

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US senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill that would allow Americans to sue China for damages over harm caused by the coronavirus. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00pm, 15 May 2020Updated: 11:01pm, 16 May 2020

A Missouri senator has fired back at a Chinese tabloid that named him as a potential target of Beijing’s countermeasures – which could hurt politicians and businesses from the US state – over a bill allowing Americans to sue China for missteps during the coronavirus pandemic.

Josh Hawley, a Republican, tweeted on Friday that threats in the hawkish state newspaper Global Times, which cited sources saying Beijing was considering punitive measures against US politicians, were a “badge of honour”. Hawley had in mid-April introduced draft legislation that would allow Americans to sue China for damages over harm caused by the disease.

“Chinese state media singling me out with threats – and threatening Missouri too,” he wrote. “Beijing can bluster all it wants. I’m not backing down.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Thursday urged some in the United States to stop seeking to shift blame in the health crisis, while he declined to directly confirm whether Beijing would roll out countermeasures against figures such as Missouri’s attorney general Eric Schmitt. In April, Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government, claiming denials and cover-ups had led to the pandemic that caused “enormous loss of life, human suffering and economic turmoil” for Missourians.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged some in the US to stop trying to shift blame. Photo: AFP

China was the third largest export market for Missouri’s goods in 2019 after Canada and Mexico, worth around US$1.1 billion, with top exports such as oilseeds and grains, and meat products. In 2018, China was also the state’s third top services export market at US$775 million, thanks largely to travel and education, according to figures from the US-China Business Council.

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