China policy round-up: US continues Covid-19 blame game, top trade officials resume talks
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China policy round-up: US continues Covid-19 blame game, top trade officials resume talks

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In this round-up, the US refuses to back down from accusing China of covering up the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, but despite the rising tensions, top trade officials from the countries spoke on Friday morning.

Chinese vice premier Liu He held a conference call with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday morning, according to an update on the website of the Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom).

The two sides said they would strengthen the countries’ co-operation in macro economy and public health, and create “favourable atmosphere and conditions” for the implementation of the phase one trade agreement, Mofcom said.

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The call came just days after US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, accused China of covering up the origins of the Covid-19 virus.

In an interview on Fox Business on Wednesday, Pompeo said he had “seen evidence that [the virus] likely came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology”.

His accusation had been harsher earlier. Last Sunday, Pompeo said in an interview with ABC that he had “enormous evidence” that the virus escaped from the institute. In turn, China’s state broadcaster CCTV attacked Pompeo’s accusation as “insane and evasive” on Monday.

US president Donald Trump described the coronavirus on Wednesday as “the worst attack” the country ever had.

He told reporters at the White House: “And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't.”

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, said during a Thursday press conference: “[China] hopes those US politicians who are still obsessed with playing the blame game to shift their focus to controlling the pandemic domestically and saving more American lives.”

China's ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai also called for an end to the blame game.

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China’s Financial Stability and Development Committee met on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Liu.

It focused on urging financial institutions to enhance risk controls on investment products linked to international commodities. The meeting also pledged a zero tolerance for financial fraud, according to a statement published on the official government website.

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The US Department of Commerce has drafted a new rule that will allow US companies to work with China’s Huawei Technologies to develop 5G industry standards, Reuters reported, citing sources.

Huawei was blacklisted by the Department of Commerce last year. The blacklisting forbids the sales of US goods and technology to Huawei. Some US firms were also unsure about whether their employees could share technology and information with Huawei during industry standard-setting meetings.

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