Chinese Foreign Ministry Press Conference on April 22, 2020

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on April 22, 2020

TASS News Agency: Attorney General Eric Schmitt of the State of Missouri filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Chinese government in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri over the coronavirus, alleging that Chinese officials are "responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians". Does the Chinese Foreign Ministry have any comments on this allegation?

Geng Shuang: This kind of "lawsuit" has no factual or legal basis. It only invites ridicule.

Since the outbreak began, the Chinese government has been nothing but open, transparent and responsible in timely informing the WHO and relevant countries and regions including the US of pandemic-related information. We have shared the genome sequence of the virus, actively responded to the concerns of all parties and strengthened cooperation with the international community. Recently, we used a timeline to detail our exchange of information with the US. Since January 3, China has been regularly updating all countries including the US on the latest development of the situation. The US has unfettered access to information and data from China. China has made significant contributions to the global fight against the pandemic. The international community bears witness to and highly commends this.

Such lawsuit is nothing short of frivolous litigation which defies the basic theory of the law. Based on the principle of sovereign equality prescribed by international law, US courts have no jurisdiction over the sovereign actions taken by Chinese governments of all levels in response to the epidemic.

Such frivolous litigation will not help the US with its epidemic response, nor will it contribute to the global cooperation in this regard. The right course of action for the US side is to dismiss this abusive lawsuit.

塔斯社记者：美国密苏里州总检察长施密特周二在密苏里东区联邦地区法院起诉中国政府，称中国政府要为新冠肺炎疫情在密苏里州乃至全球造成大量死亡、病痛和经济损失负责。中方对此有何评论？

耿爽：这种所谓的控告毫无事实和法律依据，十分荒唐。

新冠肺炎疫情发生以来，中国政府始终本着公开、透明、负责任的态度，及时向世卫组织以及包括美国在内的有关国家和地区通报疫情信息，分享病毒基因序列，积极回应各方关切，加强同国际社会合作。我们最近已经用时间线的方式介绍了中美沟通的详细情况。中方自1月3日起就开始向美方定期通报信息，美方从中方获取疫情信息和数据的渠道是畅通的。中国为全世界抗击疫情作出了重要贡献。对于这一点，国际社会有目共睹，也都普遍给予高度赞赏。

这起所谓的诉讼纯属恶意滥诉，有违基本法理。根据国际法上的主权平等原则，中国各级政府在疫情防控方面所采取的主权行为不受美国法院管辖。

此类滥诉不利于美国国内的疫情防控，也与当前国际抗疫合作背道而驰。美方现在正确的做法应当是驳回滥诉。