Donald Trump says US, China 'working closely together' to fight coronavirus

Published Mar 27, 2020

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Beijing - US President Donald Trump said the United States and China are "working closely together" to fight the coronavirus pandemic after a phone talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

Trump tweeted that he and Xi had "a very good conversation" and discussed "in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our Planet."

"China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!" Trump said.

Trump, who had until recently insisted on calling the coronavirus the "Chinese virus," said earlier on Thursday that "you don't know what the [coronavirus] numbers are in China."

"You're not able to tell what China is testing or not testing," Trump said during a press briefing before the phone call.

The US on Thursday surpassed China and Italy to lead the world in reported coronavirus cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers. 

US cases topped 83 000, followed by China at over 81 000 and Italy at more than 80 000.

The new numbers came as coronavirus hotspots appeared to be emerging outside New York state, the current epicentre of the outbreak.

dpa

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