Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Monday that China should waive the $1 trillion in U.S. debt it owes as restitution for allowing the coronavirus to become a global pandemic.
“There is a growing opinion among our colleagues that China needs to be first of all held to account for what they’ve done, and secondly they need to pay for what this has cost in lives and livelihoods and suffering and what it cost our economy,” Blackburn told Just The News.
“Now we do know that China … holds a trillion dollars of our debt,” Blackburn continued, “so waiving that would be a good solid step.“ (RELATED: Mike Pompeo Blames Chinese Communist Party For Global ‘Suffering’ Due To COVID-19)
The senator suggested that another necessary step is to ensure that manufacturing — especially of pharmaceutical products — returns to the United States from China where it currently resides and uses cheaper Chinese labor.
“So many people have realized how vulnerable we are … and I have the legislation that would return manufacturing of those active pharmaceutical ingredients to the United States so that we’re never caught in the position of not being able to get something we need in order to protect the people of our country.”
Blackburn also pointed her finger at the World Health Organization’s role in the spread of the COVID-19 virus. “I think there definitely should be an investigation into the World Health Organization and how they have politicized this process … Getting an investigation started would be the right thing to do.” (RELATED: ‘Buy American’ — White House Confirms Executive Order That Will End Medical Supply Chain Reliance On China)
A woman wearing protective gear adjusts her glasses in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
Critics accuse China of covering up evidence and testimony related to the coronavirus after the sickness broke out in the city of Wuhan. The Communist Party leadership is suspected of gagging physicians who tried to warn the world about the potential devastation of the COVID-19 virus and reports suggest the regime has been systematically lying about the number of people killed by the disease.
In a classified document reportedly sent to the White House this month, U.S. intelligence officials allege that China has been systematically misrepresenting its COVID-19 data.