Beijing: The Coronavirus is on a rampage around the world and has now sparked a political debate. China alleged that by recalling the diplomatic mission from the Wuhan province and baring the US citizens from travelling to China, the United States was deliberately spreading fear. Furthermore, China has complained that the United States was not offering any substantial assistance to them on the matter. The outbreak has already claimed 360 lives and hit Chinese tourism, film industry and stock markets, causing losses to the tune of $600 billion.
The novel Coronavirus that originated in China at the end of last year has spread to 25 countries, including the United States. Each day more states and cases of infection are recorded. The concerned countries have initiated measures on various levels to combat the virus, and the United States adopted a comprehensive policy against it. The United States is the first country to partially withdraw its embassy staff from Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The US Department of State issued a travel advisory clearly warning its citizens ‘Do Not Travel To China’. In addition, the United States has announced that the people returning from the Hubei province would be quarantined for 14 days. Citizen of any country currently in the US was advised not to travel to China for the next two weeks. Most of the US airlines have temporarily suspended all flights to China until further instructions.
The successive US decisions are being replicated by other nations as well. The Coronavirus was, therefore, observed to have triggered an atmosphere of fear and panic within the international community. The Chinese regime is unsettled with the development and has targeted the United States.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying alleged that ‘The US government hasn’t provided any substantive assistance to China following the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Instead the United States was the first to recall the embassy staff in Wuhan. After that, the United States barred an entry to foreign nationals travelling from Chinese into the United States. The United States took the decisions despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) stating that it unnecessary. The country is creating an atmosphere of panic and spreading fear around the world.’
The atmosphere in China caused due to the Coronavirus outbreak has delivered a significant hit to the Chinese economy. The lockdown China imposed in some of the cities to contain the virus has affected the tourism, films and hotel industry. The industries have reportedly suffered losses to the tune of $170 billion. The outbreak has sparked fear among the investors causing them to withdraw investments worth $400 billion from the Chinese stock markets.
China’s novel Coronavirus has also hit the oil sector and the demand for crude oil has plummeted by nearly 30 million barrels per day. It accounts for 20% of the overall trade per day in the oil market on the international level. Moreover, this is the first time since the 9/11 attacks that the oil market was hit so significantly. On Monday, crude oil prices plunged to $55 per barrel. Crude prices have dropped by 12% in the first month of 2020 and the decline in demand from China, a significant oil consumer, is believed as the primary factor behind it.
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