Despite Tensions...China's Xi Wishes Trump, Melania Speedy Recovery

On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to his US counterpart Donald Trump and his wife Melania, wishing them a speedy recovery from the coronavirus, according to Chinese state television.

Trump, who announced early on Friday he had contracted COVID-19, was taken to a hospital near Washington later in the day in what the White House called a precautionary measure.

Chinese-US relations have tumbled to their lowest point in decades amid disputes over trade, technology, security, Beijing’s tightening of control over Hong Kong and complaints about abuses in China’s Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Trump has blamed China, where the coronavirus outbreak began in December, of mishandling the outbreak and allowing it to spread.

Moreover, the US President described the virus as a “Chinese one”, “leaving China and infecting the whole world,” saying that “China must be held accountable for its actions.”